


Persona: The Okabe Files

by Arsene_Phantom



Series: Persona Files Series [3]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/F, F/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 90,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24452419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsene_Phantom/pseuds/Arsene_Phantom
Summary: A familiar story, but in a different time.This story is a "sequel" to Persona: The Sougawa Files, with an entirely new cast and story. It's sort of intended to read like a Persona game, but... also not exactly - there are a significant amount of differences from an actual Persona game, especially compared to the last fanfiction; don't expect this to be particularly game rule compliant.
Series: Persona Files Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636864
Comments: 70
Kudos: 71





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! The long awaited (as in, a few months) sequel (kind of) is here (or, at least the first chapter is)! A new protagonist, a new cast, new everything! I plan on publishing a chapter every Saturday, like last time - however, there is NO chapter Wednesday, at least for now. We're gonna be sticking to one chapter a week for the time being. As a point of clarification, bonus chapters will still be coming out for Sougawa Files - but they're noncommittal, so there's no set schedule for them.  
> But enough about that; you didn't come here to hear me ramble, you came to read. I hope to bring you a story that's even more emotionally compelling and fun to read than the Sougawa Files.  
> With that, please enjoy the first chapter of Okabe Files!
> 
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_April 1st_

_Lunchtime_

While nowhere near the most luxurious high school in Okabe, Youkou High School was still where most people found themselves due to being relatively cheap and affordable. The school's mediocre nature was best demonstrated during lunch; while some students ate inside or on the roof, most found themselves out in the yard in front of the school, halfheartedly eating at the worn wooden tables set out all around with no sense of organization. Most of the tables closest to the school were unoccupied, the moss and fungi on some of its bricks discouraging anyone from enjoying their meal nearby.

However, there was one particular table at the very corner of the school where a young girl sat alone eating a sandwich, with an unopened lunch box resting on the seat across from her. The girl didn't seem particularly bothered by Youkou's less-than-stellar conditions, chewing on her food without a care in the world. Her cheerful nature was evident for all to see, her gray eyes shining with excitement as she occasionally glanced from student to student. Occasionally she'd flick a stray lock of golden blonde hair over her shoulder and brush some crumbs off her sky blue shirt, but other than that she was perfectly content, taking the last few bites of her sandwich. After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she let out a big yawn, covering her mouth with one hand and smoothing out her black knee-length skirt with her other hand.

Her enjoyment was not to last.

"Hey!" A voice from nearby caught the girl's attention, and she hurriedly turned to see two older students approaching; a boy and a girl. With a smile, the girl hopped off her chair, her brown shoes scuffing the ground as she laced her fingers together expectantly. The boy was quick to continue speaking, raising an eyebrow. "You're one of the new kids, right?"

The new girl nodded politely. "Yeah, um. I'm still getting used to it, but I like it here." She offered a hand. "Kanako Inoue."

The boy looked down at her hand and snorted, crossing his arms. "Yeah, yeah. Look, my name's Takuto Yori, and this is Nami Yokouchi." He gestured towards the girl next to him, who leaned on his shoulder with a smug smile towards Kanako. "There's a certain pecking order around here. We're here to give you a crash course on it."

Kanako's face fell, and she took a step backwards. "Oh. Um, can't we just... you know... not do that? I won't get in your way or anything..."

Nami giggled, covering her mouth. "Awww, cute. Well, at least you look like you know your place. Just keep this stuff in mind when we're doing classes together, okay?" She cast her eyes towards the school doors. "My dad's the principal here, so I have the right to get what I want!"

"Only the best for you, babe." Takuto ruffled her hair.

Kanako nervously gulped, avoiding eye contact and folding her hands behind her back. "Okay. I understand." She muttered under her breath, "Pretty biased, though..."

"What was that?" Nami's faux-friendly expression immediately contorted into a glare.

Kanako's brief feelings of confidence immediately melted down into her shoes, and she took another step back, but Takuto met her obvious displeasure with a few steps forwards. "Look, if you wanna be a smartass, then I'll make sure you _remember_ who's on top." He cracked his knuckles with a cocky grin. "Unless you say sorry to my girlfriend."

Kanako shut her eyes in anticipation, raising both arms defensively. She slowly opened her mouth, her voice trembling. "I-I'm s - "

"Hey. Leave her alone."

Both Takuto and Nami whipped around in surprise as a slightly deeper feminine voice came from behind them. Both of them were greeted by a student who looked almost entirely different from Kanako. While her hair was about the same length, it was messy and black, with the tips dyed blue. Even though she looked to be a couple inches shorter, it was obvious enough she was distinctly more muscular, even with her hands folded behind her back; coupled with her white-sleeved black shirt, black-and-white stripped leggings, black boots, and intense brown eyes, it was enough that the two second-year students were quick to back off.

Still, they were quick to recover, stepping forward again. "Who, exactly, are you supposed to be?" Nami scoffed.

"Name's Yuina Hisakawa." Yuina jerked her head towards Kanako. "She's my friend. Now, I only got the tail end of that conversation, but it's obvious enough that you guys were trying to mess with her for being a first-year, or whatever."

"You're a first year too, aren't you?" Takuto sneered. "Do I have to teach you a lesson too?"

Yuina didn't even flinch, smirking as she rocked on her heels. "Well, let's look at it this way. If she didn't comply with you guys, that's probably your own fault. She probably took one look at your faces and had to resist vomiting."

Kanako winced at the insult, but Takuto and Nami both seemed shocked by Yuina's brazen attitude. Nami sputtered, "Do you know who you're talking to?! My dad is the _principal!_ "

"He must be pretty disappointed," Yuina replied without missing a beat.

Nami's eyes went wide, and she stepped back. Takuto growled, raising one fist. "You think you can just talk to my girlfriend like that, new meat?"

"Lemme think about it..." Yuina tapped her chin with one hand for a few seconds, before bringing out the other hand from behind her back - revealing a steel baseball bat with a bass guitar decal wrapping around it. Admiring Takuto's stunned expression, she playfully flicked the bat in his direction, taking satisfaction in his slight jolt.

"Yeah." Her eyes glinted boldly. "I'm pretty sure I can. I hit several balls out of the park with this back on my old team and I'm pretty sure it's more than capable of fucking you up. So if you want to show off or something, go ahead. I'll wait."

A few tense seconds passed.

Then Takuto grumbled, glancing to Nami. "They ain't worth our time. Come on." Nami hurriedly clung to Takuto as the two left, occasionally looking back at Yuina fearfully.

Yuina's lips curved from a smirk to a neutral expression as she stepped over to her lunchbox, flipping it open. "Man, I was kinda hoping they'd give me an excuse to hit 'em on the head, but. Whatever." Her carefree smile returned as she met her friend's eyes. "Yeesh, Kanako, I go to the bathroom for a minute or two and you've already got people after you. And I thought my reputation was bad," she joked, taking out a pack of beef jerky and ripping it open. "You alright?"

"Yeah. They didn't do anything." Kanako rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "Did you really have to be that aggressive, though? They could probably go tell the principal, and I doubt he'd let that slide. You promised you'd try to avoid trouble..." She pursed her lips. "Being kicked out of school for the first time isn't something you should aim for."

"Hey, hey. I said I'd _try_ to tone things down _._ " Yuina shook her head, swallowing a bite of jerky before continuing. "Definitely didn't _promise._ I don't make promises I can't keep." She set down her bat, letting it rest against her chair. "Besides, I've got plenty of time to improve. I've managed to scrape by before without getting expelled; I think I can pull it off this time. Don't freak out about it, okay?"

Kanako didn't seem convinced, but left the issue alone, her arms dropping to her sides. "Thanks for standing up for me." She smiled sincerely towards her friend.

Yuina rolled her eyes. "What else was I supposed to do? Leave you to get pushed around by a bunch of people who think they're hot shit? Seriously, don't worry about it." She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll stick up for you any day. It's no big deal."

The two ate in comfortable silence for a few moments. Yuina quickly relaxed into her chair, letting one arm dangle off the side as she lazily popped more beef jerky into her mouth. She swallowed with a sigh of contentment, rubbing her eyes. "So, uh... how's school been so far? I haven't been able to check on you since that class we had."

"Oh, it's been pretty fun." Kanako's posture, formerly tense, finally relaxed. She folded her hands on the table, eyes shining with happiness. "I've already learned some new stuff, and even though the school is..." She looked back towards the building behind the two, searching for the words. "... second-rate, the teachers are super nice. We did a silly little icebreaker thing for my history class."

"Great, one of those. I never liked those." Yuina hesitated upon seeing Kanako raise an eyebrow, before hastily adding, "... Glad to hear you had fun, though."

Kanako giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "What about you?"

"Well, you already know I'm not really as excited about high school as you were, so I'll stop being a bitch and say..." Yuina took a moment to finish off the last of her beef jerky. "It's been alright. Haven't really met anyone I disliked besides those guys." She nodded towards the general direction of where the two bullies had gone. "One of the teachers actually let me say fuck in class, which was probably the best thing that's happened all day."

"Just don't expect all of your teachers to be like that." Though Kanako sounded like she was chiding Yuina, the teasing smile on her face revealed her true intent. "So you haven't made any friends yet?"

"Oh, boy, here we go..." Yuina muttered under her breath.

Kanako pouted, crossing her arms. "Hey, don't be like that! I'm just trying to help you, you know. You'll have a way better time at high school if you just tr - "

"Just try to make some friends, yeah, I know." Yuina made air quotes along with Kanako's sentence. "Look, Kanako, I appreciate it. I really do. You're super sweet. But... this is how my life normally is, and I'm cool with it. I'm way better as a loner, y'know?"

Kanako looked away. "Don't I count for anything?"

Yuina's head immediately shot up, her expression shifting to one that resembled a deer in headlights. She swallowed sharply, before pointing one finger in Kanako's direction. "That's cheating and you know it..."

She hesitated for a moment as she caught the smirk on Kanako's face. Her friend burst into giggles, and Yuina relaxed a bit, feeling more comfortable. "... Y'know, someday, I'm not gonna fall for your teasing."  
  


"I know it's hard for you, but... just try. Please?" Kanako leaned forwards, pleadingly widening her eyes. "I already made a friend. You were there to see it in our class! Look how easily we hit it off." She returned to her original position, a slightly dreamy smile coming onto her face. "You remember Shouhei, don't you?"

Yuina brought her palm to her forehead with an exasperated sigh. "How could I forget? The dude wowed, like, half the girls in our class. Including you, apparently."

"He's charming!" Kanako protested, before shaking her head and raising both hands. "That's not the point. I just think it'd be a good idea for you to try reaching out to some new people. You never know who you'll meet!"

Yuina stared down at her empty lunchbox for a few moments longer before sighing in resignation. "... You know what, fuck it. Sure, I'll go try to talk to someone so you'll stop bugging me about it." She offered a half-joking smile, rolling her shoulders and casting her eyes from table to table in the lunchroom. 

After an awkward pause she coughed into her fist. "Got any, uh... suggestions? Everyone else is kinda talking and doing their own thing..."

Kanako rubbed her chin as she sized up each table. "How abooooout... that one?" She pointed towards one of the tables in the corner. Yuina blinked, observing the sole person seated - it looked to be a girl just a little older than her, with dark red hair that went down to her waist and slightly pale skin. Her clothing only had two real colors - her blouse and fuzzy boots were pink, and her scarf and skirt were white.

However, something else caught Yuina's attention. She looked back to Kanako with a completely blank expression. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to go up to someone who's napping?"

"She's the only person who doesn't seem busy." Kanako grinned sheepishly, scratching her head. "Besides, she might not be napping. She could just be, I dunno, resting?"

"Oh, yeah, that's _so_ much better." Despite her protests, Yuina grunted, getting to her feet. "All right. I'll be back in a couple minutes. Maybe even a couple seconds if she doesn't like my face." Feeling a pang of satisfaction from Kanako's giggles, she adjusted her skirt before spinning around on her heel, striding through the crowds of people and occasionally pushing some of them aside. Ignoring their annoyed looks, she came to a stop in front of the girl.

_Okay. Just say hello, get her name, maybe talk a bit, then get out of here._ After reaffirming the "plan", Yuina took a deep breath, looking over the girl's peaceful face. Her eyes were shut, she was leaning pretty far down into the chair, and her breathing was deep, but... lunch was going to end soon, right? So she'd be awake anyway. It wasn't like she cared _that_ much about waking her up... but she knew _she'd_ probably punch anyone who woke her up without warning.

She had to do this for Kanako, right...?

Maybe she could just tell her that the girl hadn't said anything... no, she'd probably just have an ugly feeling in her gut afterwards, considering last time she tried to lie. She had to at least try. She had to say something. Just an introduction. Something that would make this girl want to talk to her.

"Hey, are you awake?" Yuina blurted.

She fought against the urge to immediately turn around after that tactless greeting, her face flushing with embarrassment. Luckily, the girl's murky green eyes opened rather quickly, and she let out a huge yawn, covering her mouth. A lazy smile came onto her face. "Nah. Just resting my eyes."

Okay. Well, that was progress. "Great. Well, erm..." Yuina had to resist looking back at Kanako. "... I'm a first year here. My name's Yuina Hisakawa. You didn't really look like you were doing anything, so I thought I'd come over and say hi."

"Oh? That's nice." The girl shrugged, shuffling around a bit in her seat in what looked like a halfhearted attempt to straighten her posture. "Guess I should say hi too, huh? Fuyuko Miki." She rubbed her eyes, rolling her neck around in a lackadaisical manner. "Good to meet you, or something."

That reply didn't exactly bolster Yuina's confidence, but she refused to back down, forcing a smile onto her face. "Yeah. Same." She silently wished she had taken her baseball bat with her instead of leaving it by the table. At least she'd have _something_ to strike up a conversation. Desperately fishing for something to talk about, she asked, "So you know this school better than I do, probably. What's it like?"

"Straight to business, huh? I can respect that." Fuyuko sat up a little more in her seat, stretching out her arms. "I'm a second year, so you're right on that front. It's a neat place. You meet a lot of interesting folks here, from all walks of life."

Another person talking about how great the people were. Wonderful. Yuina resisted groaning, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. "I dunno. Place seems like kind of a shithole to me."

Fuyuko shut her eyes again. "Mmph. Yeah, it does kinda look that way. Even I thought the same thing when I first came here, but... it really ain't that bad. Best you'll get around here unless you're rich, so you'll need to learn to deal with it. You've gotta make up for the bad stuff in other ways, and for most people that's kind of a... sense of community, y'know?" Without opening her eyes, she offhandedly gestured to the students around her. "You're bound to meet someone you click with."

"Right, which is why the first people I talked to other than my best friend tried to push us around for being first years." Yuina didn't budge at the girl's ramblings.

At this, Fuyuko opened one eye, her relaxed smile fading just a bit. Eventually, she spoke with just a hint of amusement in her voice. "... You don't talk with many people, huh?"

Yuina snorted. "What gave it away?" She was just about ready to turn and leave after that remark, but a quick look over her shoulder yielded Kanako waving at her encouragingly from across the lunchroom. _Fucking hell._ Grumbling, she turned back to face Fuyuko. There was one more thing she could ask, at least. "Tell you what, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's say I actually give a crap and you do meet some interesting people. Tell me about one or two of 'em."

Fuyuko gave another huge yawn, and Yuina had to resist yawning herself, shaking her head and focusing on the girl's words. "Well, the coolest people you'll meet are the third years. They have all sorts of interesting insight and they could probably help you way better than I could... or than I ever would wanna, if I'm being honest." She did another stretch. "Not outta lack of trying, mind you. I just need a certain energy for that sorta stuff."

Yuina's question was blunt enough that it could have easily been misunderstood as a sentence. "How often does this 'energy' pop up?"

"Later." Fuyuko shrugged.

"I should have guessed." Deciding to move on from that, Yuina tried her hand at the first thing that popped into her head. "Okay, like... Shouhei Hayato. You know him?"

"Another one of his fangirls, I'm guessing?" Fuyuko noted casually.

Yuina practically choked. "Are you kidding me? He's..." She bit her lip. Infuriating? Insufferable? An asshole? None of those words seemed right... or even fair, really. "Okay, well. He's not really that bad, but, I am _not_ one of those people who goes all 'oh, he's so cool and mysterious'!" She made an exaggerated swooning noise before straightening with a distasteful mutter. "Seriously, even my friend thinks he's hot shit and they've barely even talked to each other. It's weird."

"I mean, can you really blame her? He's always got a good one-liner and the confidence to match." Fuyuko seemed indifferent to Yuina's protests. "I wouldn't say he's my type - he's a little less cute than you - but I can see why he'd get a lot of people pining after him, y'know?"

"Sure, but on first - " Yuina registered what Fuyuko had said, and practically stopped in her tracks, her arms dropping by her sides. She stared dumbfoundedly at her for a few seconds.

Then she asked, slowly, "Are you _high?_ "

"Maybe. I get that a lot." Fuyuko chuckled, seemingly more to herself, before stretching out her arms and yawning. "Mmm. It's been fun talking with you, but..." She let out another yawn. "I am getting kinda tired. See you around, maybe?"

She was getting tired? How long had they been talking, and... how much time was even left before the bell rang? Yuina opened her mouth to ask at least one of those questions, but Fuyuko had already shut her eyes again, and she found the words dying in her throat. "... Yeah. Nice talking to you too." With a slight huff, she turned and marched back to her table.

Kanako had returned to a more relaxed position, looking up at Yuina expectantly. "So? How'd it go?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Yuina plopped down into her seat, kicking her legs up onto the table. "She's a fucking weirdo, but... I've had worse talks, I guess. She seemed okay with me."

"See?" Kanako triumphantly grinned. "I told you! It's not that hard to make a few friends here and there. You don't even need a big social circle!"

"Yeah, yeah." Yuina grumbled, but offered a halfhearted smile. As much as she didn't want to say she enjoyed that, it... wasn't _all_ bad. Not something she would do regularly, but she could stomach it fine if Kanako asked her to try talking to more people. So long as she had her around, well... maybe this school year would be a little different than middle school. _That_ was hell.

Before she could dwell on it any further, though, a loud chiming sound rang through the area - the school bell. The other students all stood up one after the other, marching towards the school doors. Yuina stepped over to join them, but a hand on her shoulder made her flinch slightly, turning back.

"Hey, you're not just going to leave me behind, are you?" Kanako teased, smiling gently.

Yuina smirked back. "Heh. Wouldn't dream of it." She took a step back, standing next to her friend as she watched everyone else file in. "We've got our next class together, anyhow. Maybe you'll be able to help me stay awake. I've heard Ms. Aka-whatever is kind of a buzzkill."

"Hey, at least try to pay attention!" Kanako playfully elbowed her friend before the two filed behind their fellow students.


	2. Running On Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - Chapter 2, on a Wednesday! I immediately violated what I said last time, because I'm actually pretty ahead. However, I'm firmly sticking to the following rule for the time being: I will only publish a chapter every OTHER Wednesday - so next week, no chapter Wednesday. One every Saturday for sure, though.
> 
> I hope you're all staying well during these times and that I can continue to entertain!
> 
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 1st _

_ After School _

Yuina wasn't really sure how fast she had sprinted home, nor did she care. After dealing with a nightmarishly boring first day of school, the idea of just chilling out on her bed seemed like heaven. She skidded to a stop in front of her home, barely registering the dark red exterior as she flung the door open. 

Instinctively, her eyes went to the clock at the back of the living room. 3:35 PM. So she had gotten here in around five minutes.  _ Thank fuck we live close to school, _ she mused as she shut the door behind her, properly taking in the comfort of her living room. There wasn't really much here - a black couch, a coffee table, and a television were the only notable things. Yeah, sure, there were a bunch of family photos on the walls, but there were so many that they all blended together. None of them were recent, anyway.

Yuina idly glanced towards the other person present in the room, setting her backpack by the door. "Hey, Dad." She waved towards the balding, pale-skinned man seated at the couch.

"Hey." Rokuro Hisakawa didn't even look her way, changing the channel on the TV.

And that was it. Yuina almost considered trying to make conversation, but she quickly dismissed the thought, instead heading for the kitchen at the far right of the room. She opened the door, immediately glancing down to her feet as she stepped inside - and sure enough, she was greeted by a flurry of spotted paws trying to scramble out of the way.

"Shhh. Easy there, Hyou." Yuina closed the door behind her, gently kneeling down and placing a hand on the bengal cat looking up at her questioningly. "You're not allowed in there, y'know." With a quiet chuckle, she let Hyou nuzzle up against her hand, a loud purr coming from the cat. "Good to see you too."

With that, she straightened up and made her way into the kitchen, Hyou trailing after her heels. Might as well get herself a snack. She opened the packet of bread on the counter, taking out two pieces from the loaf and stuffing them into the toaster. Just a quick snack, and then she could head upstairs without making any conversation with - 

"Oh, you're home!"

Or not. Yuina whipped towards the familiar voice, spotting her mother coming up from the stairs to the basement nearby. "Hey, Mom. Just making a snack." She nodded towards her, bending down and petting Hyou a little more.

Hitomi Hisakawa approached the sink, tying her raven hair back before washing her hands. "How was your first day of high school?"

"It was okay. Kanako helped me get through it." Yuina shrugged, ripping off a piece of paper towel and setting it flat on the counter in advance. She had been bitched at enough times about crumbs. "Before you ask, I didn't make any new friends, and there weren't any cute guys or whatever."

Hitomi chuckled slightly, though her expression briefly turned worried. "I'm not going to be hearing from the principal about anything, right?"

Yuina's face fell almost immediately. She crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact with her mother. "No, Mom. I didn't get into any fights yet. Worst thing that happened was I stood up for Kanako when some people were picking on her for being new. That's it."

"And you didn't beat them up or anything?" Hitomi raised an eyebrow, leaning in close.

"I literally just said I didn't." As the toaster popped, Yuina was quick to pull the bread out, setting it on her paper towel and avoiding her mother's eyes. She stiffly spread some butter on before hastily making her way to the kitchen table on the other side of the room.

"... All right. I know I'm nagging you, it's just..." Hitomi sighed, pouring herself a glass of water and taking a sip. "Every time you say that, I've gotten a call, or Kanako tells me something... I just want some sign that you care about what I'm telling you. I wish I could trust you, I really do - "

"Then at least  _ try! _ " Yuina snapped.

Out of the corner of her vision, she caught her mom flinching. Burying her face in her hands, she mumbled, "... Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I've just heard this a million times... I get it, Mom. Okay?"

While she didn't move from her position, she felt a gentle arm across her shoulders. "Oh, Yuina..." Hitomi murmured, ruffling her daughter's hair. "I'm just worried about you. I promise I won't ask any more about it. I..." She inhaled. "I know it's not that you don't care, but... maybe your dad's given up, but I don't want you to feel like you're alone, or that you can't trust your parents."

_ I already trust Kanako more than you guys. What's the difference? _ Yuina managed to bite back the remark, her hands dropping to her sides. "... Yeah. Sure." She didn't look up at her mom.

Hitomi kept her arm on Yuina a little longer before letting go, stepping back. "... I bought some tickets to Shredder Freak 3. You know, to celebrate getting through your first day. I know you've been wanting to see it for a while, but... I can go with your dad if you want." Her invitation was solemn as she turned and left the room, carrying her water with her.

Yuina hesitated only briefly before taking some big bites of her toast, any sign of cheer buried underneath her now sour expression. She ate her food in silence before pouring her own glass of water, chugging it down within just a few seconds. Sure, a little snack was great, but... that wasn't really important compared to some time alone.

After tossing the glass in the sink, she bent down and gently rubbed Hyou's head. The bengal cat meowed up at her, but Yuina shook her head. "... I don't feel like playing right now, buddy. I'll go find the laser pointer later."

Despite Hyou's insistence, Yuina gently nudged him away, marching back to the living room. After grabbing her backpack again and slinging it over her shoulders, she took a few steps towards the staircase in the back, only for Rokuro's voice to cause her to stop. "Hey. I heard you yelling at your mother."

"I already said sorry. And before you ask, I wasn't in trouble." Yuina turned to face her father, seeing him leaning over the back of the couch with a skeptical expression. "Ask her yourself if you don't believe me."

Rokuro seemed unsure how to take this. Eventually he just turned back to face the television, his expression unreadable. "Whatever you did, don't do it again."

"I just said I didn't do anything..." Yuina muttered under her breath, not really caring if he had actually heard her or not. She practically dashed up the stairs, coming to a stop in the second floor hallway and making a beeline for the room at the far end, directly across from the bathroom. Already moving with a bit more of a spring in her step, she pushed the door open, feeling an involuntary grin come onto her face at the sight of her room.

Even if she still wasn't comfortable in Okabe despite being here for four or so years, this room was the one thing she felt like she had control over - the one place she could truly call home. From the red wallpaper to the trophy display case near the window to even the skull-patterned blanket on her bed, her parents had happily obliged with every request she had for making their new move as comfortable as possible. They had even helped her organize the closet so that her laptop and bass guitar would be easily accessible.

Still, the memory felt more bittersweet than anything at this point. Yuina frowned, but ignored her slight discomfort, instead kicking off her boots and heading for her closet. She took out her computer and guitar, grunting as she carried them out and set them on her bed. She hopped on shortly after, sitting in a cross-legged position.

Leaving her computer alone for now, she ran her fingers across her bass's case before opening it up, already feeling better as she properly brought out the instrument from inside. Five years with this guitar and it still looked brand new - though it was hard to make out any possible imperfections due to the black color, it was one of the only things in her room that she had actually bothered to clean.

Yuina plucked a few of the strings experimentally before grabbing her laptop and opening it up to one of the few bookmarked pages on her web browser: "Online Bass Guitar Tuner" . Even this part just felt... right. She could feel the irritation from her quarrel with her parents receding to a quiet buzzing, replaced by her listening closely to each string she plucked to see if it matched up to the note emanating from her computer speakers. E was good... A was good... D was good - 

_ Boop! _

The sudden notification sound drew Yuina's attention to the bottom right of her screen. "CHAOS - gentlegarden sent a message!". After tuning the last string on her guitar, Yuina quickly opened up Chaos - while she wasn't a huge fan of instant messenger programs, this was the only practical way to communicate with Kanako besides using her phone. As she registered the message from her friend, she began to type her own reply, occasionally strumming a few notes on her bass guitar in between each message.

[4/1 3:45 PM] gentlegarden: Hey, Yuina! Just thought I'd check on you before I got started on homework!

[4/1 3:47 PM] ThirdBass: yo, just playin bass in my room

[4/1 3:47 PM] ThirdBass: you have homework on the first day? unlucky

[4/1 3:48 PM] gentlegarden: It's not much - it's a pretest. You know, so the professor can gauge or knowledge?

[4/1 3:48 PM] gentlegarden: Hey, wait. This was from one of the classes we shared.

[4/1 3:50 PM] ThirdBass: right

[4/1 3:51 PM] gentlegarden: Maybe you could get some kinda planner? So that you can jot down all your assignments at the end of class or something?

[4/1 3:52 PM] ThirdBass: meh, that requires too much effort

[4/1 3:53 PM] ThirdBass: also money

[4/1 3:55 PM] gentlegarden: One-subject notebooks cost 200 yen! I'll even get you one myself.

[4/1 3:56 PM] ThirdBass: lol, fuck no, i ain't owing you any more than i already do

[4/1 3:57 PM] gentlegarden: It's on me. Seriously.

[4/1 3:58 PM] ThirdBass: i'll pass for now. idk if i'd even use it, even if my parents yelled at me

[4/1 3:59 PM] gentlegarden: Mm. Yeah, that's fair.

Yuina watched her screen attentively for a minute or two before shifting her concentration entirely to her bass playing, recalling an old number - one of the first songs she had ever played in full. She didn't even need to recall the name at this point; the notes were practically ingrained into her mind and fingers. 

With each string plucked, a soft, almost soothing melody began to take shape. Yuina took a deep breath and shut her eyes, letting her instincts take over. A few more seconds of playing was all it took before her concentration shifted almost entirely to the sound of her guitar - she barely registered the bed beneath her, the bright light of her room going through her eyelids, or even the faraway  _ Boop! _ signalling that Kanako had sent her another message. The turmoil of emotions formerly roaring within her - anger, regret, discomfort, apathy, and whatever else she could pluck out - all melted together into unimportant backgrund noise. The only thing that was important was the symphony she was producing.

For once, she felt at peace.

As Yuina plucked the last note of her song, she slowly opened her eyes, rubbing them a bit as she shook herself out of the weird zen-like state she had been in moments earlier. Feeling a little better, she set her guitar aside, leaning forwards and shifting her attention back to talking with her closest friend.

[4/1 4:02 PM] gentlegarden: Have you been doing okay? You usually only play bass when you're upset.

[4/1 4:05 PM] ThirdBass: don't call me out bitch :P

[4/1 4:06 PM] ThirdBass: nah, jokes aside, my parents are doing the usual thing

[4/1 4:07 PM] ThirdBass: mom's all "oh, you shouldn't get into any fights, you're not doing anything, you don't care about anything"

[4/1 4:08 PM] ThirdBass: ok she didn't say that but it's obviously what she meant

[4/1 4:08 PM] ThirdBass: i know all this shit already, mom. i don't need to hear it again

[4/1 4:09 PM] ThirdBass: so i get a little heated, but i say sorry for yelling. then when i go up to my room dad assumes that i did something wrong and that's why i was shouting

[4/1 4:10 PM] ThirdBass: didn't even give me a chance to defend myself.

[4/1 4:12 PM] gentlegarden: I'm sorry to hear about all that. I know things are rough for you.

[4/1 4:13 PM] gentlegarden: I can come over and try to vouch for you? I know your mother would listen, at least.

[4/1 4:14 PM] ThirdBass: nah, dw about it. i know my mom wants to adopt you but i'm fine

[4/1 4:14 PM] ThirdBass: i don't hate mom. or even dad, really. i'll make things up to them myself. i just need some time to think i guess

[4/1 4:15 PM] gentlegarden: If you're sure. I'm always here to help, okay?

[4/1 4:16 PM] ThirdBass: you're the best, kanako

[4/1 4:16 PM] gentlegarden: ^^

Yuina let out a slight chuckle to herself, her back straightening. She packed up her guitar in her case, carrying it to the closet and setting it in its rightful place. For now, she left her laptop out - and for good reason, as another  _ Boop! _ from Chaos got her attention.

[4/1 4:18 PM] gentlegarden: Oh, uh... one more thing before I start on homework.

[4/1 4:19 PM] gentlegarden: Someone I talk with apparently caught Countdown...

[4/1 4:20 PM] ThirdBass: wtf

[4/1 4:21 PM] ThirdBass: what was it like

[4/1 4:22 PM] gentlegarden: Don't get too excited. They're fine.

[4/1 4:23 PM] ThirdBass: well you don't gotta say it like  _ that _

[4/1 4:24 PM] gentlegarden: Only joking!

[4/1 4:25 PM] gentlegarden: They sent me a message about it really early this morning saying they only had 13 hours left, but they got back to me about an hour before I got home. They're fine!

[4/1 4:26 PM] ThirdBass: really?

[4/1 4:26 PM] gentlegarden: Yeah, apparently the countdown just kinda disappeared from their hand when it reached zero.

[4/1 4:27 PM] gentlegarden: It was really weird, though... they said they were hearing voices and felt sick. They even missed school for it.

[4/1 4:28 PM] ThirdBass: first day of school, too. sucks to miss that

[4/1 4:29 PM] ThirdBass: well, i'm glad they're better at any rate

[4/1 4:30 PM] gentlegarden: Yeah. They were actually pretty happy to get back to me, it was nice!

[4/1 4:31 PM] ThirdBass: mhm

[4/1 4:32 PM] ThirdBass: sorry to cut this short, but i actually have to go do something

[4/1 4:32 PM] ThirdBass: check you later?

[4/1 4:33 PM] gentlegarden: Yeah, sounds good! I should get started on that pretest anyway.

[4/1 4:34 PM] gentlegarden: See you around!

[4/1 4:35 PM] ThirdBass: later girl

Yuina closed her laptop, leaving it on her bed for now. She had made up her mind. Grabbing onto her boots, she put them back on and tied them tightly before making her way for the door. Hearing some shuffling around in her parents' room down the hall, she decided to take a chance and called, "Hey, Mom?"

A pause. Hitomi's reluctant voice came from the room. "Yeah?"

Yuina took a deep breath, clenching her fists. She forced out, "If you haven't dragged Dad into watching yet, I'd be down for watching Shredder Freak."

More silence.

Then, the door opened. Hitomi peeked out from her room, a touched smile on her face. "Just let me get dressed."

As the door shut, Yuina exhaled in relief, heading downstairs.


	3. Guest of Honor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - Chapter 3 is out, on schedule! Introducing the Velvet Room and our assistant. I wanted the assistant's text to be in a different font, but... AO3 doesn't support fonts, so. Just imagine their text in Courier New, yeah? I hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_??? _

_??? _

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room." _

The first sensation that registered in Yuina's mind was the cold, hard concrete beneath her. Groaning, she rolled onto her stomach, mumbling, "Five more minutes..." As much as she was trying to get comfortable again, with whatever pavement she was lying on, that seemed impossible.  _ Did Dad toss me onto the sidewalk to wake me up or something? _ With a huge struggle, she pried her eyelids open, ready to be greeted by a car whizzing by or something.

Instead, she was greeted by a pair of black dress shoes.

Yuina blinked. Her fatigue vanished in seconds as she practically shot to her feet, eyes narrowing as she took in the man before her. Whomever this was, he didn't scream friendly - from that manic grin to that... unnaturally long nose, she was seconds away from punching him. Still, she managed to restrain herself, asking the first question that came to her mind. "Who the hell are you?"

The man's grin didn't waver, his hands steepled underneath his chin. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

Okay, no. With how smarmy this guy sounded, he was practically begging to be slugged in the face. Yuina took a step forward, raising one fist. "Look, Igor, I don't know if you're a run-of-the-mill creep or some  _ special _ kind of freak, but you made a mistake kidnapping someone who's damn well willing to - "

That was as far as she got before something snagged onto the back of her shirt, flinging her to the ground with no effort at all. Yuina let out a yelp as she collapsed onto her back - it didn't really hurt that much, but it was abrupt enough that the wind was knocked out of her with one simple gesture. She was about to spring back up towards her attacker, but a metallic  _ clank! _ got her to stop in her tracks.

Things only got weirder as her assailant stepped in front of her with... well, no expression at all. Yuina couldn't make out any hint of a smile in... what she assumed was this thing's face. It was hard to tell what it even was - while it had a humanoid body, there was zero sign of flesh; just a frame of golden rods, all connected by deep blue glass. Yuina's momentary anger was quickly overtaken by awe as she took in objects within the... what she assumed was a robot - gears, smaller glass containers, batteries... it looked like a whole collection of junk in there. 

Her eyes turned back to his blank visage, seeing a strange liquid swirling around within. Golden flecks of some unidentifiable material shifted in the water, forming to make a frown. " Please don't assault my master. "

Yuina stared blankly, her expression showing about as much emotion as the robot's had prior to magically getting a face. Before she could comment, the brief hint of an expression disappeared as the gold...  _ stuff _ dispersed, merging formlessly into the liquid once more.

Cautiously, Yuina raised her index finger. "... I have  _ several _ questions."

"All will be answered in time, dear guest." Throughout the whole exchange, Igor's facial expression hadn't even budged. Yuina wasn't sure if that kind of confidence was amazing... or, well. Creepy as hell. Still, she actually bothered to pay attention to Igor this time as he continued speaking. "Please, acquaint yourself with the Velvet Room."

Come to think of it, she hadn't really figured out where she was. Finally, Yuina got to her feet, a little more slowly than before as she slowly took in her whereabouts. Blue skyscrapers extended as far as the eye could see, each covered in bright gold windows from top to bottom. In the distance, Yuina was fairly sure she could make out some other buildings in the distance, such as nightclubs and even... a music store?

And yet, despite how far this place extended, she was stuck in this dinky little alleyway with these two weirdos. The only  _ non _ -blue or gold stuff was the gray concrete beneath her feet and a massive barbed wire fence surrounding her, Igor, and the robot.

"So, uh. This is a dream, right?" Yuina looked back to Igor, crossing her arms. "Or was there something in that popcorn I got for the movie?"

Igor chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Yes and no. You are fast asleep in the real world... but this is no dream, guest. This is the Velvet Room, a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and - "

"Yeah, great." Yuina cut Igor off, scowling. What the hell was he going on about? "It's more like a Velvet City, dude. This place is huge." She took in a few of the skyscrapers one more time, another odd detail popping into her head. "Do any of these even have doors? I guess I can't really go in them, considering you were nice enough to keep us fenced in, but - "

"Please!" The robot protested, waving its thin arms around wildly.  "Allow my master to speak. We're short on time..."

Yuina groaned, pushing some of her hair out of her face. "Fine. Whatever. I'll play along for now. Igor, if you want me to take you seriously at  _ all, _ here's a question." She pointed towards the robot almost accusingly. "What the  _ fuck _ is that?"

"This is Adam." Igor seemed unfazed by Yuina's comments - unlike Adam, who let out a sad whirr, the gold particles in his face forming a frown. "He is a resident of this place."

Adam crossed his arms.  "I've heard of some odd guests from my brothers and sisters, but you are the first to be so rude. Master, are you truly sure this is the one?"

"If my own dream is lecturing me on my manners, then I think I have a problem," Yuina deadpanned, not taking her eyes off Igor. "So your weird glass robot has siblings? How does that work? And what does he mean, I'm not 'the one'? Are we getting into prophecy bullshit or something?"

Instead of answering her question, Igor nodded towards Adam. "Please present the tarot cards."

A compartment opened in Adam's chest, and the mishmash of random objects from inside vibrated before spitting out a deck of tarot cards straight onto Igor's desk. The robot looked up at Yuina hesitantly.  "Do you believe in fortune telling?"

For the first time since the start of this... strange exchange, Yuina actually felt some slight reluctance. Still, she sighed, shaking her head. "I mean, there's some magic disease going around town that seems a little too real. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing." She raised an eyebrow as Igor moved the cards directly in front of her. "Still, isn't this usually a scam?"

Once again, Igor didn't bother to address her question... well, sort of. "Each reading is done with the same cards... yet the result is always different." He looked up at her, almost invitingly. "What fate is in store for you, I wonder...?"

_ Yeah. Of course they're different. That's called shuffling the deck. _ Still, as much as Yuina wanted to snark at Igor further, something compelled her to gently take the top card of the deck. Adam flinched, but Igor nodded approvingly as Yuina flipped it over, setting the card next to her. The card was facing Igor, and depicted a silhouette of a woman blowing a trumpet on three people, with an "XX" beneath it.

"... Hmm?" Igor's relaxed demeanor faltered, and he raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

Yuina practically glared at him. "Hey, don't leave me in the dark. I'm not the tarot wizard here."

"Judgement in the upright position..." Igor rubbed his chin. "It seems a life-changing decision awaits you. Whatever choice you make, it could lead you to a fiery rebirth..." His eyes twinkled with what Yuina could've sworn was a hint of malice. "Or, perhaps, destruction."

Even though this sounded like vaguely prophetic bullshit, Yuina still felt a chill run down her spine. "... Does this have to do with high school?" she asked, surprised at how meekly her voice came out.

"You will find out in time." Igor offered the cards to her. "Please, take another card, so we may learn of the future beyond your life-changing decision."

"With all due respect, master, is that really a good idea?" Adam still seemed uncertain, his weird face shifting to what looked like an uncomfortable frown.  "This is not how readings are usually conducted..."

"You took time out of my nap to make me do some card reading that I didn't give a fuck about." Yuina's scowl was enough to get Adam to shy back nervously. "You could at least have the courtesy to let me pick the damn cards." After a huff, she swiped the top card off the deck, flipping it over. "Kay, Igor, what's this one ab - "

She froze. Even though the visual was still unfamiliar to her, something about it was... wrong. The card displayed a tall tower cracked in half by a lightning bolt, with "XVI" under it. Whatever this was, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. Her suspicions were confirmed as Igor mused, "The Tower, in the upright position. It signifies chaos, revelation, and the unexpected... whatever decision you make, it will inevitably lead to an upheaval."

"... Do I have to take any more cards?" Yuina looked towards both of the Velvet Room inhabitants for confirmation, seeing them both shake their heads. She sighed, taking a step back from Igor's desk. "Okay. So that's it? I'm gonna make some big decision and it's gonna make everything go crazy?"

"Well, another possibility for upright Tower is pride before a fall,"  Adam warned, twiddling his glass fingers.  "Given your general demeanor, that seems like something to take into consideration."

Yuina mulled this over, before the implication in his words registered. Her eyes flashed as she shot a glare towards Adam. "What are you implying, you fucking scrap heap?"

"At ease, guest." Igor raised one hand, and as if pulled by some sort of invisible force, Yuina's attention immediately went to him. "The Tower has many interpretations, as Adam has helpfully provided... all of which could be correct. Whatever choice you make, it will inevitably lead to a striking revelation in the coming year... or, perhaps, a disaster that sends you to your lowest point. This is where Adam and I come in."

His smile didn't really reassure Yuina that he had the best of intentions, but nonetheless, she paid attention as he kept speaking. "Our duty is to ensure you are not led astray by fate. After your decision, you will return here, and we will be able to inform you further."

"I'm sorry we can't provide you with anything else for now." Adam's "face" swirled incomprehensibly as he packed up the tarot cards, placing them back inside himself.

Yuina raised an eyebrow. "So... that's it, then? You guys tell me a bunch of indistinct crap and then go 'well, we'll help you eventually'?"

Taken aback, Adam's expression shifted into a slightly irritated frown.  "We can't meddle with time too much. We have nothing but the best of intentions in helping you with - "

"Hey. Shut up." Yuina stepped towards Igor's desk, leaning forwards. Who did these Velvet Room guys think she was? Some ant in destiny's big plan? "You might be right, Igor. You might even be spot on. But I don't believe in fate, or time, or whatever other shit you guys might bring up. I make my own path. So, sure, what you're saying  _ could _ happen. But I'm not going to need your help when it does. Don't treat me like I'm beneath you."

Adam raised a hand in her direction, but Igor just chuckled softly.

"Are you even taking me seriously?" Yuina was starting to reconsider giving him a good punch in the nose. That would probably hurt... hell, with how long it was, it might even snap off. Adam was made of glass, too, so it wasn't like it'd be hard to break him.

"We will see, guest. Your bravado is nothing short of admirable." Igor bowed his head respectfully. "I understand you may not trust us yet, but... if you do create your own future, that would be a sight to behold."

He looked back up towards Yuina, his grin turning the slightest bit mischievous. "Unfortunately, our time here has come to an end. As I said, we will meet again after your decision. Until then, farewell..."

Yuina opened her mouth, but before she could speak even a word of defiance, everything melted away.


	4. The Limit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - Chapter 4! This features a new character that I suspect will be... divisive, especially later on. Still, I'm very excited to share this with y'all, as the plot has officially kicked into motion! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 2nd _

_ Morning _

"Yuina! Wake up!"

Yuina jolted in surprise as a voice cut through the tired haze in her mind, immediately followed by a blaring guitar song. Groaning, she rolled over on her bed, swiping her phone out from underneath her pillow and turning the alarm off. "Sorry, Mom," she mumbled, getting out from under her bed.

"It's fine! That alarm's just been on for a while!" came the reply from the next room.

After checking the time, Yuina exhaled in relief; still plenty of time to get ready. Still... sleeping through her alarm, even at max volume? That was new. She hadn't gone to bed particularly late. Did she just have an extra comfortable sleep last night or something?

A brief image flickered through Yuina's mind - something from her dreams... a blue building? Some guy with a long nose? Did Shredder Freak 3 give her some weird fever dreams?

Eh. They weren't really important. With a shrug, Yuina hopped off her bed, heading for the dresser and picking out some clothes. The first day of school felt eventful, but past that it was basically all downhill, so she didn't bother to pick anything special out. From here it was just going to be a daily grind; do her homework, get Kanako to help her study for some tests, and... yeah, that was pretty much it for the next few months. Great.

Still, as she headed for the shower, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was going to be a little more than that.

_ April 2nd _

_ Lunch _

Okay, maybe not.

"I swear, class is so  _ boring, _ " Yuina groaned, dramatically leaning her head against the table and halfheartedly taking a bite of her turkey sub. Even this whole lunchroom already felt routine - same table, same person to talk to (even if that person was Kanako)... the sandwich didn't even feel that different from the beef jerky she had yesterday.

"Chin up, Yuina!" Kanako seemed unfazed, playfully pushing Yuina's head upwards. "I know things aren't very exciting yet, but we're only on the second day."

"Yeah, and I'm learning about ecological science and history. Fucking great. I'm sure I'm going to use all this later in life." Yuina sat back up, sighing. "You really need to take off the rose-colored glasses."

Kanako pouted. "Hey, it's thanks to  _ me _ that you didn't get sent to the principal's office for that stunt in our class, you know. Your mom probably would have given you an earful for that."

Yuina rolled her eyes. "Look, if people are gonna talk shit about you, what do you think I'm gonna do? Maybe I'll build a reputation of 'don't fuck with this girl's friend or she'll beat you up'." Despite her words, she playfully smirked at Kanako, knowing she would understand the gratitude she was trying to convey. If she had to spend time in detention, well... she'd probably be dead from boredom by this point - and considering she had to sit through World History, that was saying a lot. 

She took another bite of her sub, swallowing only after a few moments of chewing. "Still, I wish I didn't have to take these classes. I wanna learn more interesting stuff, y'know?" She hesitated, before raising one finger. "Except music class. That class is the shit."

Kanako's eyes lit up at the mention of music. "Oh, did you get to bring your bass guitar today?"

"... Well, the teacher said I could, but." Yuina's smile faltered, and she glanced off to the side. "I didn't really wanna today. I'll bring it in... sometime, I guess."

"I bet everyone would love to see you play," Kanako encouraged, leaning forwards. "I know the whole talent show debacle happened, but you've improved a lot as a musician since then! I've seen you when you're at the top of your game, and I know you'd get a lot of people happy to hear it!"

Ughhh. Yuina's face turned slightly red, and she avoided Kanako's eyes. "Did you really have to bring the show up?"

Kanako leaned back, looking a little nervous. "Oh, um. Sorry. I know it's kinda sensitive, but..."

"Yeah, I know it's in the past. Doesn't make it any less embarrassing." Yuina crossed her arms. "I know my guitar fucking up in front of hundreds of people  _ might _ seem like a small issue, but. It's not."

"That's not what I was..." Kanako shook her head, sighing. "Forget it. I'm sorry."

Yuina scowled. "... Don't apologize. It's fine. I know you just want me to be happy and all that." Feeling her cheeks return back to normal, she exhaled. "I know it'd probably be better to try playing in public again. And I'll take that leap... sometime this year. I promise. But it probably ain't gonna be anytime soon. Just let me take things at my own pace, all right?"

Kanako nodded slowly. She opened her mouth, about to speak, before faltering. "... Uh, who's that?"

"What?" Yuina raised an eyebrow. Seeing as Kanako was sitting across from her, she turned around to - 

"Hi."

Yuina jolted, nearly falling off her chair as she registered the person standing mere feet away from her. She managed to stand up, properly taking in... whomever this was. It was hard to tell if they were a guy or a girl - the brief greeting  _ sounded _ male, but it was just enough to make her unsure. Their brown hair was long and wavy, and they looked unassuming enough with their casual clothing - a green-and-black striped shirt, beige shorts, and white sneakers didn't exactly paint an intimidating picture, coupled with the fact that they were even shorter than Yuina. She almost felt embarrassed for her moment of surprise.

That was, until she noticed their amber eyes. Something about them made her uncomfortable - the gleam in them felt almost like a predator sizing up their prey. Grumbling, she dusted off her clothes, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity. "Dude, back the fuck up."

"Ah, my apologies." Okay, definitely a guy, at least. The boy brushed a lock of hair out of his face, smiling politely. "Yuina Hisakawa, correct?"

"How do you know my..." Yuina trailed off. Wait, this guy looked kind of familiar. She shut her mouth, raising one finger. "... Wait, you were in science, weren't you?"

The boy chuckled, folding his arms behind his back. "Why, yes. You can call me Taiki Himura. I'm a first year too." He tilted his head slightly. "I just remember you from your, ah... episode, while the teacher was away. Honestly, I'm impressed no one told her what happened."

Was that a threat? Yuina carefully reached behind her, fingers closing around her bat. "What about it?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. I'm not a snitch." Taiki raised both hands in surrender. "It just seemed a little disproportionate, no? A few teasing comments, repaid by the possibility of a metal bat on the head... that doesn't really seem fair."

Oh, okay. He was just here to be a righteous prick. Yuina didn't let go of her bat. "Look, dude, if there's one thing I've learned from being in school it's that people won't stop unless you make them." She brought out her bat from behind her, smacking it into her palm as a form of warning - coupled with a slight glare. "If you're gonna tell me I was wrong, fuck off. I can make my own decisions."

Taiki's smile wavered, and he pursed his lips. He slowly turned around, and Yuina relaxed, slowly beginning to lower her bat. She was ready to turn her attention away from this weirdo, finish off her sub, and chat with Kanako for the rest of lunch.

That is, until Taiki mumbled, "So what were you two talking about?"

Yuina sighed in exasperation, but... she probably couldn't just ignore him. "Personal stuff. You don't need to know."

"Oh, don't worry. You don't need to tell me." Taiki brought one hand to his mouth with a chuckle. "I already heard everything; I've been standing here for a bit, waiting for a good time to talk to you. I think I actually remember the specific talent show you're talking about, as a matter of fact."

Yuina froze up for the briefest of moments before taking a step forward, her eyes narrowing. "What are you implying?"

"Oh, I don't know. Most people don't seem to recognize you from middle school... which isn't surprising, given how you conduct yourself nowadays." Taiki's voice was dripping with manufactured politeness as he turned back to face Yuina, meeting her intense gaze with that ever-polite smile. He wasn't even flinching. "Still, perhaps I could give them all a reminder? I'm sure they'd be pretty interested in hearing about this."

Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope,  _ nope. _ Yuina wasn't going to let this guy straight-up  _ blackmail _ her to... what did he even want her to do in the first place? Why was he doing this? She didn't care. She stepped forwards, grabbing onto Taiki's shirt collar and pulling him close. "Hey. You seem smart. You know how strikes work in baseball?"

"Who doesn't?" Somehow, Taiki was  _ still _ smiling, looking ever confident.

Yuina frowned. Something about this wasn't right - and it wasn't Kanako hurriedly waving her hands from behind her. Still, the fact that Taiki didn't even look the slightest bit scared, well... it pissed her off. "You hit strike three. You're out." She raised her bat in preparation, ready to teach this freak a les - 

"Yuina Hisakawa!"

The sudden voice caused Yuina's concentration to falter immediately. That wasn't a student talking. Taiki took the opportunity to push her back, stepping back and adjusting his shirt hastily - just as a middle-aged woman in professional wear walked up to the two, her arms crossed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Uh oh. Yuina nervously glanced up at her. "... It's not what it looks like, I swear - "

"I told you, Ms. Koizumi." Taiki shook his head sadly. "I tried to talk to her, and she just decided it was okay to push me around."

The puzzle pieces in Yuina's head clicked, and she let out an almost animalistic growl towards Taiki. "You  _ bastard, _ " she hissed. "You son of a bitch! That's not what was happening at all! You were - "

"Yuina! Please..." 

Kanako's voice snapped Yuina out of her rage, the weight of the situation hitting her fully. She glanced over to Taiki, whose smile looked just the slightest bit more smug, before turning her face back to Ms. Koizumi, sighing and kicking the ground. Even though Kanako hadn't said anything else, she could already predict her saying something about not digging herself deeper. Why waste time? "... Yeah, okay. We had a little fight."

"A little?" Ms. Koizumi shook her head. "To my office. Now. Taiki, please go back to your table."

"Of course." Taiki gave one last look towards Yuina, and for a moment the look in his eyes changed. Yuina wasn't sure what he was thinking, but with the way he looked at her, it was almost like he thought this was what she deserved. Still, the look was gone as soon as it came, and he made his way back to a table in the middle of the lunchroom.

Well. No real way out of this. Yuina sighed, setting her bat aside. "Make sure no one takes this, okay?" She looked over to Kanako expectantly.

Kanako gulped, nodding. With that, Ms. Koizumi huffed before turning back towards the school and heading inside. Yuina walked behind her with her head lowered, trying to ignore the small crowd of students staring at her and chatting among themselves.

***

This wasn't the first time Yuina had seen the inside of a teacher's office, and it sure wouldn't be the last. They all looked the same to her, really, to the point where she was already running down her mental checklist as she took a seat. Big desk with paperwork? Check. School-related awards and diplomas on display? Check. Potted plant? Check.

... An actual comfortable chair was new, though. At least that was something.

Ms. Koizumi sat down on the other end of the desk, adjusting her glasses as she looked over Yuina with intense scrutiny. "Young lady, it's only your second day and you've already almost gotten into a fight? With another first-year, no less?"

Ugh, the "young lady" shit? Yuina managed to resist groaning, crossing her arms. Now she could at least try to explain herself. "The dude was trying to  _ blackmail _ me."

"... Eh?" Ms. Koizumi raised an eyebrow.

"I'm serious. There was this talent show I was part of, and... well, I kinda fu - " Yuina caught herself, coughing. "... messed up. He said he'd remind everyone else about it if I didn't do stuff he told me to do..." 

She trailed off, staring at Ms. Koizumi's skeptical expression. "I'm telling the truth!" she protested. "Ask Kanako!"

"It's not that. I don't think you'd have any reason to lie to me at this point." Ms. Koizumi looked aside, muttering to herself, "Your parents said you were at least honest, anyway." 

Yuina blinked. "... Wait, my parents mentioned me to you?"

"That's not important. What's important is how you handled the situation." The teacher turned her attention back to Yuina, leaning forwards. "If his 'blackmail' is true, I'll have a talk with Taiki about it as well. Something about him was enough for other students to bring up concerns as well. That  _ said... _ "

Yuina wasn't listening to her dumb lecture anymore. She sunk into the chair, sulking as she broke eye contact with Ms. Koizumil and stared at her boots underneath the desk. Okay. So her parents still didn't trust her, to the point where they decided to  _ warn the faculty about her. _ Great. Just fantastic. If she hadn't been convinced that the rest of the day was going to suck ass, this was the nail in that particular coffin.

_ Thanks, Mom and Dad, for looking out for me. _ Bitterly, she adjusted her posture, looking back up at Ms. Koizumi. She had to at least pretend she was taking this all in.

"... things must be hard for you; high school is a new experience. But you need to at least make an effort to improve your behavior." Ms. Koizumi seemed a little less on edge, though her posture remained professional as ever. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Consider this just a warning - I won't even tell the principal. But next time I catch you being aggressive to other students, you  _ will _ receive detention - and I will let your household know. Are we clear?"

Even the silver lining wasn't enough to cheer Yuina up, but she forced a smile onto her face. "... Yeah. Crystal."

"Very good. You may go back to your lunch table now. If Taiki does anything else, report it to a teacher." Ms. Koizumi looked down at her paperwork.

"Mhm." Yuina didn't look back as she got up and stormed towards the door.

_ April 2nd _

_ Evening _

[4/2 9:33 PM] ThirdBass: ok, i think i'm feeling a little better

Several hours of nonstop bass playing and Yuina had barely lessened the ugly emotions swirling around in her gut. Every string she plucked felt painful on her fingers; every verse she played sounded like a disgusting cacophony. Only now did she not feel seconds away from throwing her guitar out the window in frustration.

And yet, until sending that message to Kanako, it was all she could think of  _ to _ do. Homework? Probably not a good idea, considering she had tried doing just one question on math and broken her pencil from how hard she was using it. Talking with her family?  _ Definitely _ out. Going out to do something in town? She was completely broke; the most she could do was take a walk around, and that'd just be a waste of time. Playing catch with Kanako? Too bad she was doing homework and didn't want to leave the house.

Thankfully, her frustration had eased to a point where she decided to take up her friend's prior offer to let her vent. As Chaos gave her a notification, she took a deep breath before she began to type.

[4/2 9:34 PM] gentlegarden: Okay! Let me know when you're done. I don't want to interrupt you.

[4/2 9:36 PM] ThirdBass: ok so, the teacher tells me the usual stuff

[4/2 9:37 PM] ThirdBass: "you need to be better", "you can't just beat up people", yadda yadda. at least she actually listened to my side of the story for once, cause you know what, fucking great, i actually felt heard for a second.

[4/2 9:38 PM] ThirdBass: right up until she said, like, "your parents said you were honest, so i believe you" or some bullshit like that

[4/2 9:39 PM] ThirdBass: my mom had this talk with me yesterday about wanting to trust me and give me a chance

[4/2 9:40 PM] ThirdBass: good to know that meant jack shit considering she decided to tell the staff i'm a problem kid or whatever the hell she said

[4/2 9:41 PM] ThirdBass: i mean i expected this from my dad, but i'm pretty sure it was both of them

[4/2 9:42 PM] ThirdBass: god, i'm so fucking pissed off

[4/2 9:43 PM] ThirdBass: gimme a sec

Yuina was trembling hard enough that she could barely type coherently. She scooted away from the keyboard, placing her hands on the bed beneath her and taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. After feeling the tremors settle a bit, she leaned back into her keyboard and continued.

[4/2 9:45 PM] ThirdBass: ugh

[4/2 9:46 PM] ThirdBass: i'm done. thanks for listening

[4/2 9:48 PM] gentlegarden: I don't really know what to say, Yuina. I watched that whole thing and I know it wasn't all your fault.

[4/2 9:49 PM] gentlegarden: I know you've wanted your parents to trust you for a bit, and I can understand how this would feel unfair.

[4/2 9:50 PM] gentlegarden: I know you think they don't understand you like I do.

[4/2 9:51 PM] gentlegarden: But I promise that things are going to turn out okay. I know they might seem awful now, but... I want to help you as much as I can.

[4/2 9:52 PM] gentlegarden: I'd do anything for my friends. I promise.

[4/2 9:55 PM] ThirdBass: tbh i'm not sure how to feel rn but

[4/2 9:56 PM] ThirdBass: thanks a ton for being there for me, kanako.

[4/2 9:58 PM] ThirdBass: i'm probably gonna go to bed to try to cool off. i might message you if i can't sleep, though. i know you stay up kinda late

[4/2 9:59 PM] gentlegarden: Of course! I'm here if you need me. ^^

Yuina didn't feel... entirely better, but. Knowing at least  _ someone _ had her back, even if it WAS her best friend, was enough to calm her down. She packed up her guitar and stuffed it into her closet before turning off the lights, opting to keep her laptop by her bed for now. She wasn't really an early bedtime person, so 10 PM seemed like a weird time to try to sleep, but hey, she had already lost most of her energy. It wasn't like she was raring to go right now. She kicked off her boots halfheartedly, slipping under her covers and...

Wait, what was that on her hand?

Yuina stopped midway through pulling her blanket over her head, slowly turning around her palm - only to be greeted by four numbers and a colon blinking back at her in a plain black font, like a digital alarm clock. It was a bit hard to see because she only had the window to illuminate it, but... those were  _ definitely _ numbers.

_ 23:59 _

"... What the hell?" Yuina muttered, the implications taking a moment to settle in. She ran her finger across her palm experimentally - touching the numbers didn't seem to do anything, and she couldn't even feel them on her skin. They were just... there, like some tattoo or an image projected onto her hand. 

This was a bad sign. She hurriedly flipped her laptop back open, taking a brief moment to confirm that the countdown was still visible under the light of her screen - which it was - before typing a little more frantically than earlier.

[4/2 10:02 PM] ThirdBass: uh nevermind

[4/2 10:02 PM] ThirdBass: i have countdown

[4/2 10:03 PM] gentlegarden: Eh????

[4/2 10:04 PM] ThirdBass: i'm not fucking with you, i swear - i'll take a picture

At least, that was the plan. Yuina was quick to take out her phone, taking a picture of her palm and hurriedly sending it through the Chaos mobile app. However, she blinked as the picture properly uploaded, displaying on both her phone and computer screen. There was no countdown visible - it was just a picture of her palm, plain as day.

[4/2 10:06 PM] ThirdBass: what the fuck

[4/2 10:06 PM] ThirdBass: ok i swear i'm not trying to pull a prank, it's on my hand

[4/2 10:07 PM] ThirdBass: it says 23:54

[4/2 10:07 PM] ThirdBass: well, 23:53 now

[4/2 10:08 PM] gentlegarden: Mmph... while I believe you, Yuina, you might just be seeing things from how today went.

[4/2 10:09 PM] ThirdBass: is that a thing? anger induced hallucinations? :P

[4/2 10:10 PM] ThirdBass: maybe i'm just tired, yeah, idk

[4/2 10:11 PM] gentlegarden: If it's still there in the morning, that's probably cause for alarm, but... I wouldn't worry for now, okay? Do you feel any different?

[4/2 10:12 PM] ThirdBass: nah, not really. maybe a little less pissed lol

[4/2 10:12 PM] ThirdBass: i'll forget about it for now. talk to you later

[4/2 10:13 PM] gentlegarden: Sleep well!

With that, Yuina closed her laptop and put it on her bedside counter, plopping her phone on top. Even if she  _ did _ have Countdown, well... Kanako's friend had turned out fine. Really, how bad could it be? 24 hours (at least, those seemed like hours) and she'd be okay.

There was nothing to worry about. She slid under her covers, pulling them over her head. Her thoughts came to a gradual stop, and as her eyes gently closed, she let the embrace of slumber envelop her.


	5. Time Has Come Today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, next chapter. Chapter 6, just like the last one, has our Persona acquiring, if you couldn't guess... however, this one's gonna be special~ I look forward to sharing it with you!
> 
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_???_

_??? _

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room." _

Even though it was only her second time here, the blues and golds of the city felt like home as Yuina's consciousness slowly returned to her. The concrete beneath her was still uncomfortable, but an odd sense of calm overtook her as she got to her feet. "... Hi, guys," she mumbled, awkwardly waving towards the two inhabitants of the room. "Yanked me out of my dreams again, I'm guessing?"

" At least you seem a little more agreeable this time. " Adam nervously scratched his mechanical head.

Instinctively, Yuina checked her palm, sighing with annoyance as she spotted the countdown. Great; so it  _ was _ real. However, she blinked as she properly registered the numbers.

_ 92:33 _

_ 01:68 _

_ 52:52 _

With every second, the countdown kept changing - sometimes into actual times that looked plausible, other times into ones that made no sense. "... Uh, I think your Velvet City is making my weird disease malfunction." She held up her palm towards the two attendants, praying they could see it. These guys weren't regular people... they had to be able to spot the timer, right?

Naturally, Igor's response didn't serve to answer that question. "Time is fluid here; whatever you may be afflicted with, it has no meaning." His grin was still present as he looked her over. "Your decision is coming soon. I hope you haven't forgotten?"

"I mean, I kinda only remembered this place existed when you pulled me back in." Yuina snorted. "What, is the timer on my hand some kinda manifestation of when I'm gonna make that decision? Cause that's kind of on the nose."

Adam shook his head. " It doesn't quite work like that, no. The countdown and your decision aren't related. Consider this an unlucky coincidence. "

"Right." Yuina decided to take their word for it, sighing and leaning against one of the building wallsl. "... You guys are lucky I feel better here than at home right now," she muttered.

Igor raised an eyebrow, wordlessly prompting her to continue.

"... I haven't been sleeping well. Woke up a couple hours after passing out with a fever, and it only got worse, like. Thirty minutes later or whatever. I haven't really been keeping track." Yuina pursed her lips. "I feel way better here, so... thanks for that, I guess. Even if it's just because this is a dream."

... Was she really venting to a creepy guy and a robot in a lifeless city? What the hell had her dreams come to? Still, she couldn't bring herself to stop. "Sorry about last time. I know you guys are looking out for me. Just..."

She paused only briefly, before shaking her head. She couldn't help herself. "You guys know all about fate and stuff, right? Or at least Igor does."

" I know things too! " Adam complained.

Yuina smirked. "Dude, you gotta learn how to take a joke." She turned her attention back to Igor, her expression turning deadly serious in an instant. "If you're  _ really _ on my side, got my best interests at heart and all that... then I've got one question for you. I'm probably gonna get more prophetic bullshit, but... I want something that'll make sure I know it's right to basically put my future in your hands."

She met Igor's eyes. "Maybe I'll make the right choice, maybe I won't. But answer me this: will I make it out of this okay?"

Igor didn't say anything for a while. Adam occasionally twitched one of his metal limbs, but the Velvet Room's master remained completely still, to the point where Yuina wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Just when she was about to give up, he spoke.

"It depends entirely on your own decisions, dear guest. What I can safely share of the future is limited. But, regarding last time we spoke..." Igor's grin seemed to grow just by an inch or two. "You said you wanted to create your own destiny. If you truly believe in that philosophy... then carve your own path; seek out your own answers. What happens next is entirely in your hands; similarly, it is your choice whether you accept or turn away our guidance."

Yeah, that was about what she expected. Yuina resisted an annoyed groan - as much as she wanted to lambast Igor for going off on another philosophical tangent, he... did seem like some kinda otherworldly being. Of course he'd be bound by weird rules...

... and hey, he was addressing one of her concerns from their last meeting. She smiled softly. "Thanks, Igor. I owe you one."

" You don't owe us anything. " For once, Adam didn't sound sad, his face shifting to show a smile. " We'll speak again soon, and we'll be able to help you more personally then. "

"But, for now, our meeting is concluded." Igor bowed his head politely. "I have faith in you, guest, to find your own path. The next time you come in here, it will be of your own accord. But in the meantime..."

He waved his hand. "Farewell."

_ April 3rd _

_ Morning _

God, Yuina was tired.

As the blaring of her alarm filled her senses, she groaned and rolled over, practically slamming her fist on her phone before picking it up and shutting the alarm off manually. She hadn't even been asleep; did she really have to get up? She had barely gotten any sleep due to her now unbearable fever  _ plus _ her parents deciding 5 AM was the best time to have a chat about her behavior. Even now, she could still hear them chattering on...

Well, she had to get up, since it was time for school. No way they would buy that she was sick, and it wasn't like Countdown was contagious.

... Wait, Countdown!

Yuina jolted upright with a start, ignoring the rambling in her ears for now and glancing at her palm. The numbers were still there, plain as day - if anything,  _ 14:59 _ was even more visible now due to the increased light in her room.

First things first. As she stepped out of bed and got her clothes on, she fumbled with her phone, attempting to text Kanako through Chaos while she got dressed.

[4/3 7:02 AM] ThirdBass: kanako, are you up?

[4/3 7:03 AM] ThirdBass: countdown's still there. 14 hours left

[4/3 7:05 AM] gentlegarden: Yeah, I'm up. That's probably bad...

[4/3 7:06 AM] gentlegarden: Are you feeling okay?

[4/3 7:07 AM] ThirdBass: feel like crap, so no

[4/3 7:07 AM] ThirdBass: i gotta go to school anyway, though, i could hear my parents mumbling about me or some shit

Yuina put her phone away as she properly got her clothes on, grunting in annoyance. She could  _ still _ hear them talking. How long had they been going at this? Didn't they have work to go to - 

"Hey, you up?"

The door swung open before Yuina could process what was happening, her parents' voices quieting to nothing. Hitomi stood at the door, glancing at her for a moment before nodding approvingly. "Just thought I would check on you. Have a good day at school, okay..."

She trailed off, her expression shifting to one of concern. "... Are you all right? You look kind of mad... and pale."

Ugh. Yuina shook her head, doing her best to stand straight. "I'm fine, Mom. Bit tired, but I'll be okay. Thanks for asking." She hurriedly changed the subject, trying not to sound accusatory. "So, what were you and Dad talking about this morning?"

Hitomi hesitated, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I heard you guys talking since, like, 5 in the morning." Yuina crossed her arms. "I couldn't really hear what, but... you guys weren't really quiet."

Hitomi stared at her for a few seconds. She shook her head lightly, rubbing her eyes. "Yuina, I... I just woke up, and your father's already left for work. I'm not sure if you were hearing the neighbors or something, but... if someone was keeping you up, it wasn't us."

What...?

Yuina blinked, trying to wrap her head around this. Those were  _ definitely _ her parents' voices keeping her up... in fact, now that she was actually paying attention to something besides her mother, she could've sworn she could still hear them. As she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening, Hitomi stepped forwards, a look of worry coming onto her face. "Are you sure you're okay? I can drive you to school if you want; I'm on my way to work anyway, so - "

"No, I'm fine! Thanks, Mom. Love you." Yuina hurriedly gave her mother a hug. As Hitomi yelped and flimsily hugged back on instinct, Yuina took the opportunity to squeeze past her and dash down the stairs.

"W-Wait! Yuina!" her mother called frantically. "Your skin is warm! Do you have a fever?!"

"It was just kinda hot in my room! See you!" Yuina called back as she slung her bag over her shoulder, dashing out the door towards school and trying to ignore the growing fatigue settling over her.

***

Almost twelve hours to go. When the timer ran out, she would be fine.

Second class of the day and Yuina already wanted school to be done. Granted, that wasn't because of anything in particular that had happened, but the fever was growing unbearable. She didn't have Kanako in the same class until next period, so here she was, sitting at her desk with her head buried in her hands, trying not to pass out from exhaustion. This was worse than any sort of cold she had caught.

But the worst part wasn't the fever or the nausea. It was the voices.

Yuina never minded gossip at all; she was used to being the person everyone stayed away from or made up rumors about. But when it came this frequently, in just about every class... the urge to grab the next person who talked shit about her and beat them over the head with the baseball bat grew slightly more. She could've sworn even the teachers had said a few things. She didn't even care about what they were saying; she just wanted the never-ending barrage of insults and questions to  _ stop. _

_ "That kid's super aggressive! Don't talk to them or she'll beat you up!" _

_ "Doesn't she realize she's scaring people away? I sure wouldn't want to talk to her." _

_ "How does she have that first-year as a friend? She deserves way better. She'd better straighten up before she loses her!" _

_ "Sent to a teacher's office on day two... how long until she's expelled? She needs to change!" _

_ "Hey, Yuina! You need to change! Yuina? Are you listening? Yuina?" _

"WHAT?" Yuina shouted, slamming her fist on the desk and glaring up at the teacher before her. In an instant, the entire class turned towards her in shock, and Yuina hesitated, even noticing her nervous wreck of a teacher stumbling back in surprise. However, none of that was enough to rattle her.

What sent a chill up her spine was that she could still hear all of them talking at full volume, but the more she observed every person, the more she noticed that not a single one of their mouths were moving. In fact, as the voices thundered through her head, they were starting to sound less like random people and more all beginning to blend into one voice. One very familiar, unsettling voice.

_ Her _ voice.

Yuina meekly looked back up at her teacher. For the first time in years, she felt... weak. "... I'm sorry. I was... thinking about something. What were you saying?"

"I-I was just asking if you wanted to help me recap the basics of ecology before we wrapped up..." Mr. Yamashita adjusted his glasses. "You had a good handle on those last class period, so I thought it'd be appropriate to... you know."

Damnit. Damnit, damnit, damnit, she actually  _ liked _ this teacher, and she had just frightened him. "... Sure. Just... gimme a sec, please. I won't take long." Yuina should have felt embarrassed, but she tried to collect her thoughts. Basics of ecology, basics of ecology... the more she tried to pluck those facts out of her head, the principles she had spent time studying with Kanako in study hall, the louder her voice seemed to get in her head.

_ "You need to change, Yuina!" _

**_"You need to change, Yuina!"_ **

**_"YOU NEED TO CHANGE, YUINA!"_ **

Yuina opened her mouth. "I need to - "

The bell rang. Yuina only managed to catch a glimpse of her palm, seeing the countdown tick down to  _ 12:00, _ before her eyes slammed shut, her head fell forward, and everything melted away. The fever, the voices, even the shame - all of it came to a sudden stop, as if hitting a brick wall and shattering entirely.

The last thing she heard was soft giggling before her consciousness faded away.


	6. Beat The Clock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - the chapter is here; the big Persona awakening! However, it doesn't really go like you'd expect...~ I hope you enjoy regardless!
> 
> My recommended music for when a certain part of this chapter begins (you'll know the one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVk5VuY9lVM  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_??? _

_??? _

_ Tick... tock... tick.. tock. _

As Yuina's senses returned, the first thing to fill her mind was a ticking clock... or several. The sound was loud enough that every  _ tick _ and  _ tock _ seemed to forcefully pound her into recovery. There was just the hint of something else too - a gentle bass melody, that seemed to get slightly louder as she gradually awakened... yet never overshadowed the ticking.

Next came awareness of her position. Yuina felt her body return to her, groaning as she properly registered her position - she was sprawled out on a hard wooden floor. Had she just been left in class after passing out?

... No. This was different. Sight was next; her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she had to squint at first at the sudden light coming through, everything turning into a blurry mess. It was mostly from... above? Her eyes adjusted quickly, and she managed to push herself up slightly, getting on her knees as she properly registered where she was.

Yuina's jaw fell agape as she took in the massive concert stage she was sitting in. The only lights were, indeed, coming from above - yellow spotlights, though they were dim enough that they left the stage's surroundings mostly black. She could see a few of the rows of audience seats, but there wasn't a single person in attendance, leaving her completely alone...

No, she wasn't alone. Her eyes turned towards a chair in the shadows, which very clearly had a person sitting in it, even if any features they had were impossible to make out due to the lighting. It was clear enough that they were the one playing the bass - the music was very obviously coming from them. 

Yuina stood up properly, taking note of her lack of fever and... well, voices. She instinctively raised her palm, observing it slowly and tilting it around. No countdown... Her mind was racing with questions, and there was only one person to ask them to. She turned towards the figure in the shadows. "Hey. You. Where the hell am I?" Her tone was accusatory, but she fought to avoid showing any weakness. Maybe this was the school auditorium, and some joker had dumped her here to mess with her?

**_"Ahhh... you're finally here. I've been waiting for this."_ **

Yuina flinched at the sudden sound of her voice... but not her voice. It was like three of her were speaking at once. She could only watch in horror as the figure stood up, suspending their guitar playing and stepping into the light. It was... her. Well, not really her. The yellow eyes, twisted smile, and purple aura made her look... demonic, almost. Her clothing was different, too - she had a glamorous-looking leather jacket with various decals plastered on, ripped jeans, a choker... she looked like some kind of punk rock star, complete with thick black eyeshadow.

"H-Huh...?" Yuina felt something disturbing bubble up within her; something she  _ hated _ feeling at any time. Fear. She didn't like it, and yet she found herself taking a step back. "What the - what are you pulling?"

Her doppelganger chuckled, slinging her guitar over her shoulder.  **_"This isn't a trick, and you're not dreaming. I'm you! Well... sort of."_ ** She tapped her chin quizzically.  **_"I'm more like... your Shadow. You created me, and thanks to all of your doubts and resistance... you helped bring me to life! So thanks for that~"_ **

The chill down Yuina's spine was growing in intensity, sending goosebumps over her skin. "My Shadow...? What the fuck are you talking about?!"

**_"You still don't get it? Let me explain, then."_ ** Shadow Yuina slowly began to pace around her true self, each step taken with confidence that Yuina herself could only hope to match.  **_"You need to change, Yuina. But you've been fighting against that... you've been resisting the irrefutable fact that everything you've been doing has been a complete and total disaster. You know how many people do that? A lot. You're lucky I found you! It feels so good to be in your form."_ **

She gestured towards the concert hall.  **_"All of this? This is your mind... reshaped how I'd like it to be. This is my domain now, and you play by my tune."_ ** To emphasize, she slung her guitar off her back, mockingly strumming the strings.

Yuina slowly turned to follow her Shadow, feeling her uncertainty and hesitation rise with every word. "Wait, so... you're controlling my mind?"

**_"Preparing to do so, anyway. You're all asleep in the real world, so now I can take over! Isn't that exciting?"_ ** Shadow Yuina giggled, twirling around giddily.  **_"In twelve hours, I'll be completely in control! And you won't have to worry about a thing anymore."_ **

Now that Yuina was starting to understand what was happening, her fear was settling down, much to her relief. She exhaled in contentment as she felt a far more familiar emotion overcome her: anger. "You think I'm just gonna stand here and let you take me over, or whatever?"

Shadow Yuina's piercing yellow eyes met hers; Yuina refused to back down in response, even if she felt a distinct sense of danger just from looking into those eyes. They were devoid of any real emotion besides... sadistic glee, even as her grin faded.  **_"You're really ungrateful, you know that?"_ **

"What, so I'm supposed to be  _ thankful _ that you're gonna use me as a puppet? What kind of fucking psycho are you?" Yuina growled, stepping forwards. "You're  _ not _ me!"

**_"You SHOULD be thankful!"_ ** Shadow Yuina spat, smashing her guitar against the ground.  **_"Don't you get it? You're holding back on changing yourself because you're scared. Scared of messing up, of losing things. You keep saying you will, but guess what? That's not enough. You need to BE better. You're just making everyone miserable... including yourself!"_ **

She stepped towards her counterpart in response, the two directly in front of each other.  **_"When I'm in control, I'll make that change happen. Everything will be better for you and everyone. You've already lost the faith of your parents. How long do you think you can keep this up before you lose Kanako too?"_ **

That did it.

Yuina had put up with this Shadow's dumbass rambling right up until she said that. She was tired. Tired of this fake her pushing her around, forcing her to change, threatening to take over her body,  _ toying _ with her... and trying to use the only person she cared about, more than anything else she could think of, as leverage. She had  _ enough. _

"There's at least one thing I can afford to lose." Her eyes glittered dangerously. "You."

Then, she swiped with an object in her hand, smashing it straight into her Shadow's head.

Shadow Yuina stumbled back as the baseball bat hit her square in the scalp, knocking her to the ground. Yuina was quick to slam one of her boots down onto her Shadow's chest, pointing her bat threateningly at her head. Had she been holding it before? Where had her bat come from? She didn't care. Her mind was fully set on one objective as she glared straight at her doppelganger. "Let me out of here before I cave your fucking skull in."

Shadow Yuina blinked, and for a moment, Yuina caught fear in those empty yellow eyes. However, it was gone as soon as it came, her Shadow letting out a soft giggle.  **_"Ehehehehe..."_ **

"... Why are you  _ laughing? _ " Yuina stared in confusion.

**_"Well... it's just... ehehe..."_ ** Shadow Yuina caught her breath, before that wicked smile appeared on her face like magic. **_"I think you've underestimated what I can do!"_ **

Yuina had no time to react as her Shadow struck a chord on her bass guitar - a much  _ louder _ chord than the previous ones. The music rang through her head, forcing her to step back instinctively - and Shadow Yuina wasted no time in kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying back. She slammed into the ground, but hurriedly sprang back up, holding her bat in an aggressive stance. Her Shadow stood up properly, giggling at the newfound distance between them.

"You think I care if you've got supernatural shit?" Yuina smashed her bat against the ground before raising it back up, ready to make a dash for it. "I'm still going to make you wish you  _ never _ latched onto me."

**_"Hate to tell you, but my will's stronger. You can't stop change!"_ ** Shadow Yuina cackled, gripping onto the end of her guitar with both hands.  **_"This number's dedicated to you!"_ **

The two stared at each other before charging forwards, raising their weapons.

Yuina swung her bat just as her Shadow swung her guitar, the two objects smashing against each other like clashing swords. It didn't last long, the sheer force of the guitar easily able to knock Yuina's bat away; Shadow Yuina capitalized on this, darting in for another swing towards her true self's head. Yuina barely managed to duck in time, the instrument swishing over her head hard enough that the slight breeze messed up her hair. Capitalizing on the opportunity, she kicked her Shadow straight in the chest, sending her stumbling back.

Yuina's mind reacted in an instant - if there was one thing she had learned from her fair share of street level fights, it was to disarm her opponent. She lunged forwards and swung her bat towards Shadow Yuina's hand, but she reacted just as quickly, sidestepping before swinging her guitar outwards in a crushing arc. Pain erupted from Yuina's side as the guitar smashed into her, sending her tumbling to the floor.

She fought to keep her grip on her bat, hearing Shadow Yuina approaching behind her.  **_"You can't win this fight, but... you're used to that, aren't you?"_ ** she mocked.  **_"You never solve things! You only prolong them."_ **

"Prolong  _ this!" _ Yuina leapt up to a standing position, spinning around and smashing Shadow Yuina straight in the skull with her bat as hard as she could. She let out a distorted screech - though it didn't look like the blow had actually done any permanent damage, it had forced her to clutch at her face with one hand. Wiping off the smug grin on her face was a plus, too.

Yuina took a single step forwards, aiming for a good follow-up, and elbowed her Shadow in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. As she gasped for air, Yuina swung her bat like she was hitting for a home run, hitting her hard enough that she fell to the ground some distance away, her guitar clattering to the ground. Yuina was quick to step over it, kicking it behind her and repositioning herself in between her Shadow and her dropped weapon, her back now to the empty audience. 

"Last chance." She cracked her knuckles. "Get the fuck out of my head, now."

**_"Ohhh, this is not what I was expecting from my victim, but... I love it!"_ ** Shadow Yuina was breathing noticeably more heavily, but the smile was still visible on her face.  **_"How about I give you an encore?"_ ** She raised one hand, palm open.

Before Yuina could attack again, she heard something scraping across the ground behind her. Her instincts kicked in, and she dove to the side just as Shadow Yuina's bass guitar flew straight towards her, landing straight in her grip. Her fingers closed around the instrument, and she stood up triumphantly, rolling her shoulders.

"... That's bullshit." Yuina stared in disbelief.

**_"I never said I was going to play fair!"_ ** Her Shadow raised her guitar.  **_"Let's turn the volume up!"_ **

Yuina only had a split second to be confused about why Shadow Yuina was attacking when the two were nowhere near each other before she slammed her guitar into the ground, sending a loud, screeching chord through the entire concert hall. The resulting shockwave of sound slammed into Yuina, sending her flying across the room.

Yuina slammed into one of the rows of audience seats, falling down to the ground with a groan. It hadn't hurt that much, but it left her dazed enough that she was barely aware of her surroundings, shaking her head to get everything back into focus. She heard a clattering sound from a long distance away, only now registering something crucial: she no longer had her bat.

Great. Before she could even think about retrieving it, she yelped and leapt backwards as Shadow Yuina abruptly crashed down in front of her, strumming a chord.  **_"Get ready for a solo of pure pain!"_ **

Yuina's mind shifted from an offensive approach to a defensive one in an instant, and she barely managed to leap straight onto one of the seats as her Shadow swung her guitar downwards in another arc, sending another shockwave out. Even without being in the line of fire, Yuina felt the sheer force nearly topple her over - standing somewhat unsteadily on the backs of the chairs didn't help things, but she forced herself to keep her ground. She couldn't reasonably recover her bat... so she'd have to take another approach.

Thinking fast, she leapt straight over her counterpart's head, praying she'd stick the landing - much to her relief, she landed straight on top of the row of seats in front of her, using the force to kick against the backs of the chairs and shoot herself over another row. Her landing was somewhat ungraceful; she tumbled to the ground in front of her, grunting in pain to herself, but she managed to get up with minimal injuries. More important was where she had landed: the front row.

**_"Coward!"_ ** Shadow Yuina cried. Yuina whipped around to see her effortlessly leaping over each row, speedily making her way to her counterpart.  **_"First you struggle in vain, then you run? I'll chase you to the corners of your mind!"_ **

_ Just what I want. _ Yuina spread her arms tauntingly. "Come at me, then!"

Shadow Yuina grinned, jumping over the front row and raising her guitar - only for Yuina to step forwards and punch her straight across the face. Her Shadow shrieked in surprise, nearly dropping her guitar to the ground. That was just the opening Yuina needed to lunge inwards, grappling onto her murky counterpart tightly - one arm around her back, the other around her neck.

**_"G-Grk...! This isn't what I meant when I wanted you to accept me!"_ ** Shadow Yuina growled, wriggling to break free - but Yuina was holding her awkwardly enough that she couldn't swing around her guitar effectively.  **_"Let me go!"_ **

Yuina made eye contact, her own grin coming onto her face. "Sure." With all of her strength, she groaned, barely managing to lift her Shadow off the ground. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her to toss her straight back on stage. Shadow Yuina yelped as she hit the ground, struggling to maintain her grip on her guitar.

Yuina wasn't going to let her recover, though. She was quick to climb onstage herself, ignoring the aching from the sheer force she had to use for that throw, and brought back her leg before kicking her Shadow in the ribs as hard as she could. She kicked her again, and again, and again, each hit sending her further backstage - until the two were nowhere near the audience.

Finally, Shadow Yuina couldn't take it anymore, practically screeching as her grip on her guitar gave out. Yuina pressed her boot against the guitar before kicking it straight back, planting her shoe straight on her Shadow's chest. She didn't look super injured, but... she was definitely tired. It would probably be easy to bruise her up.

**_"... You really are..."_ ** Shadow Yuina let out an exhausted sigh.  **_"... shortsighted, you know."_ ** She raised her hand, and her guitar shuddered before flying straight back towards her - 

\- only for Yuina to glance over her shoulder and extend one hand, catching the guitar in midair before it could return to her counterpart. She wobbled a bit, but managed to get her grip on the guitar pretty quickly. It felt... surprisingly comfortable in her grip. Like it was made for her.

Shadow Yuina's jaw dropped.  **_"W-What?!"_ **

If looks could kill, Yuina suspected her glare would be enough to murder her Shadow on the spot. She kneeled down on Shadow Yuina's body, raising her guitar. "If you're really me, you should know what's coming next."

**_"... An apology?"_ ** Shadow Yuina's smile was nowhere near the cocky, deranged grin she had before; not a single sign of confidence was present. All Yuina could make out was nervousness.

And she didn't care.

"Wrong answer." Yuina slammed down the guitar, straight into Shadow Yuina's neck. Distantly, she registered a crack, but she didn't let up, raising the instrument once more before slamming it down again.... and again. The guitar made a loud noise with every slam, each broken chord only serving to fuel Yuina's rage further and further. When she opened her mouth, she barely registered how loud she was shouting, her throat barely able to express the pure anger coursing through her entire body.

"Leave! Me! The! Fuck! ALONE!"

Yuina's final blow was punctuated by her words, her guitar slamming into her Shadow's head hard enough that it went limp immediately. Yuina held her position for a moment before letting go of the guitar, her adrenaline melting away - replaced by pure fatigue. With a groan, she rolled off her defeated Shadow, her legs stretching out as she collapsed on her back, gazing up at the spotlights above. Her grip loosened on the guitar, and her hands went limp to the ground.

She turned her head towards Shadow Yuina, watching her... and noticing her body flickering on occasion. She let out a sad chuckle.  **_"... So that's how it is... you're really something else."_ **

"Shut... the fuck up." There was no bite behind Yuina's words. She knew she was done for; if she hadn't landed the finishing blow then and there, well... the rest of her life was gone. Yet, despite that, she felt strangely content. It wasn't like many people would care, anyhow. The new her would probably be better; even Kanako would probably feel better knowing she wouldn't have to keep making up for Yuina's dumb mistakes.

... And yet, her Shadow didn't do anything. In fact, her tone was deadly serious, contrary to her mirthful disposition prior.  **_"You've fended me off for now, human. Your resolve to continue on your path, well... it's not worth doing what I was going to do. Nothing will get past you right now."_ **

She turned her head, and Yuina winced as her neck emitted a very audible  _ crack. _ Coupled with Shadow Yuina's psychotic grin, it made for an unsettling visual.  **_"But you're going to have to change eventually, you know. And you do want to try, yes?"_ **

Even though Yuina wanted to say no and spit in her Shadow's face... she knew it'd probably be able to see right through her. Defeated, she sighed. "... Yeah. I don't... I don't want to be that kind of person. I want to be better."

Shadow Yuina giggled softly, before standing up like Yuina hadn't even beaten her brutally. The injuries on her body were very evident, particularly around her neck and facial area, but she didn't seem to care.  **_"Then I'll help you... for a time. All debts have to be repaid. Never forget that. But for now... I'll serve as your symphony of change."_ **

She extended her hand towards Yuina.  **_"Do we have a deal?"_ **

Yuina blinked in surprise, not really understanding what was going on. What was she talking about? Was she really obligated to owe her Shadow something after she tried to hijack her body? And what "debt" did she need to repay? Still, she didn't really have many other options, and... well, if there was anyone she wanted help from in maybe getting things better... it would be herself.

She took her Shadow's hand, managing to pull herself up. "Deal."

Shadow Yuina nodded, before closing her eyes and spreading her arms. Yuina watched in awe as the shadowy aura around her body changed from an ominous purple to a welcoming blue, and her skin and clothes shimmered brightly, molding together and changing. Her overall figure didn't change, but Yuina could make out some definitive differences here and there... even if they changed as soon as they came.

Before she knew it, the light had faded, and Yuina was staring up at... someone completely different. They were some sort of humanoid figure - their skin was rusted metal, so they looked like a robot of some kind, but... their movements felt too lifelike. They wore a black coat, jeans, and a red hunting hat - oddly mundane, but somehow, that simple ensemble covered most of their body with shadows, making it difficult to make out anything but their glowing green eyes.

Yuina stared. She slowly opened her mouth, only managing to say "Uhhh...?"

The figure sighed before speaking in a masculine voice.  _ "... Hey. I'm Caulfield." _ He raised one metal hand, and a burst of fire ignited within.  _ "We're gonna take on the goddamn world together." _

Yuina blinked. If she had questions about the whole contract and debt thing, well... this only served to increase how much she wanted to ask. And yet, despite all of the things she wanted to say, how much she wanted to interrogate her Shado - no, Caulfield... she spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"Wait, so you're a  _ dude _ now?"

Even though Yuina immediately wanted to slap herself for saying that, Caulfield didn't seem fazed, chuckling softly.  _ "Boy, girl, you can call me whatever you want. We Personas ain't tied to a gender. But you shouldn't worry about that; you should get some rest. You'll get outta this nightmare soon." _

Yuina wanted to complain, but another wave of fatigue hit her, and she found herself nodding somewhat numbly. "I'd better get an explanation for what the hell is going on by tomorrow," she grumbled, sinking down to the ground and getting as comfortable as she could on a cold, hard stage floor. "You're lucky I tend to go with the flow."

_ "Don't worry. Things'll be all clear soon." _ Caulfield hummed.  _ "It's not on my end how things go, though. That's on you. Just keep doing what you do." _

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Satisfied, Yuina let her eyes drift shut.


	7. Revolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - here's the next chapter! I may take next Wednesday off from publishing a chapter - I've fallen behind a bit and need the time to catch up. This is not a guarantee, though, and you may get a new chapter anyway Wednesday~ Keep in mind Saturday will still get a chapter as well! Enjoy a fun new character in this chapter~  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_??? _

_??? _

_ Tick... tock... tick... tock... _

Yuina had expected the sound of a clock to stop by the time she got out of her weird mindscape, but as her eyes opened, the first thing she registered was the invasive sound. Still, as the rest of her senses quickly returned, she took notice of all the other things around her. Gone was the uncomfortable concert floor beneath her, replaced by a far more comfortable bed.

However, as Yuina's vision unblurred, she immediately felt anything  _ but _ comfortable as she sat up. From the other beds just like hers, to the drawn curtains that would separate her from other patients... a hospital was the last place she wanted to be right now.

... It didn't help that the wall clock was  _ really _ loud. Ugh. Yuina took a quick look around, spotting a nurse at a computer desk. "Hey, um. Miss? Could you turn down the clock?"

A pause. Yuina waited for an answer, but the nurse didn't even reply, gaze firmly fixed on the computer before her. Had she even blinked?

"Hey. Nurse." With only some slight difficulty, Yuina hopped out from her bed, relieved that she wasn't in one of those hospital gowns, and marched straight to the nurse, raising one hand to tap her on the shoulder. "I know you're probably busy, but that clock is  _ seriously _ loud, and - "

She stopped in her tracks, staring down at the nurse. Despite being right behind her, she hadn't even reacted... in fact, she not only still hadn't blinked, but hadn't even moved. She was perfectly still, almost like a statue - she wasn't browsing anything on her computer, she wasn't even breathing.

Feeling more unnerved by the second, Yuina experimentally pushed the nurse's side, surprised to find that she didn't even budge, stuck in place. Yuina couldn't even get her hand free from the computer mouse. Taking a slight step back, she scanned the computer, looking for anything fishy. It looked like she was just checking her emails, which wasn't anything special...

... Wait, what did the time say?

Yuina's eyes went to the bottom right of the screen, blinking as she mouthed, "... 26:92?" Feeling a hint of trepidation, she nonetheless turned to face the wall clock, properly taking in a more normal-looking time; the hour and minute hands signified it was 11:30... AM.

... No, that wasn't right. Just from the nearby window, Yuina could tell it was nighttime. Furthermore, the second hand was frozen in place... and yet, she could still hear the ticking. Now that she was more conscious, though, it didn't seem like the wall clock was making the ticking sound. If anything, it was coming from all around her.

"... Freaky," Yuina muttered to herself, raising one hand towards the clock experimentally. It didn't look like any of the staff were physically able to stop her, considering their frozen state, so maybe she could pull it off the wall and - 

**"GRRRRR..."**

Yuina's entire body froze, almost as still as the other people in the room. She had been preoccupied enough with her situation that she was only now noticing the other sound in the room: heavy, animalistic breathing. Unlike her dream, she knew a baseball bat wouldn't appear for her to defend herself with... so as far as she was concerned, whatever had found her? She had nothing to fight with.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from slowly turning around - only to nearly fall in shock. Her gaze was greeted by a massive purple mutt - slightly taller than her, with fangs sharp enough to rival tigers. The strangest part was the mask; the dog's upper face was covered in a purple mask with an "IV" stitched onto the forehead area. It made it look almost... regal.

Before Yuina could dwell on that, however, the mutt snarled, jolting her out of her panicked thoughts. She slowly raised her hands, feeling her heart practically beating out of her chest. "G... Good boy...?"

The dog didn't seem to like that comment, lowering its head with an intimidating growl. It crouched down, baring its fangs, and Yuina defiantly glared back. She was probably screwed here, but... she wasn't going to die looking like a pussy. The hound moved, ready to lunge - 

\- only for some sort of small projectile to smack it straight in the throat.

The hound's roar was immediately cut off, turning into a choking whimper. Before Yuina had any time to look towards where that had come from or even what had been launched, she felt a hand grip hers tightly. Jolting, she whipped around, a pair of startlingly bright blue eyes greeting her from above... and glasses? Her brain didn't have time to process any other details about this person - except for the one thing that he said.

"Run."

The stranger grabbing onto her arm and pulling was all it took to snap Yuina out of her shock, and she sprinted alongside him, the two heading down the hospital stairs in sync. "Thanks for the save." Yuina pulled her arm free of the person's with a grunt, looking over to properly size them up. Whomever this was, they were probably a lot older than her; experienced and probably able to tell her what the hell was going on...

... or they just looked like a guy who was one or two years older than her, that worked too. Just from his outfit, Yuina could tell he was trying too hard - he looked more like a wannabe college professor with his dark brown coat, black dress shirt and pants, and... blue sneakers? His black hair was short and scraggly, as if he hadn't even bothered to groom it. And yet, what drew Yuina's attention the most was not all of that, but the purple wristwatch on his right arm.  _ Who wears watches nowadays? _

"Don't mention it. We Persona users gotta look out for each other. Name's Saburo Sasaki." Saburo rounded the corner, Yuina struggling to keep up. "You?"

"Yuina Hisakawa." Yuina stared at him as if he was speaking a foreign language, her introduction somewhat absentminded. "What the fuck is a Persona?"

Saburo stared back, before pointing. "Did you not try out your shiny new wristwatch?"

"I'm not wearing a - " Yuina choked as she glanced down to where he was pointing, her eyes landing on a black-and-red watch that looked... almost identical to Saburo's.  _ What...? _ She looked back at her rescuer, eyes narrowed. "Okay, look, I've had a pretty wild day, so you'd better explain to me what the hell is going on as soon as we're not being chased by a psycho puppy."

"It's not a dog." Saburo shook his head as the two burst into the lobby.

Yuina only processed that nobody in the lobby was actually moving for a second before whipping around to face Saburo, dumbfounded. "... What."

"Dog _ like, _ maybe. But definitely not a dog." Saburo pushed his glasses up his nose, lacing his fingers together. "It's called a Voracious Mutt. Confusing, I know."

Yuina stared at him as if he was from another planet - which, at this rate, would have been the least surprising thing she had seen today. Before she could call him an idiot or smack him, a snarl resounded through the room as the Mutt stumbled down the stairwell, hissing and spitting. It looked over the two Persona users, giving off that low growl.

"Okay, look, the name doesn't matter. What matters is you called me a Persona user and it has to do with the watch." Yuina was silently wishing she had her bat, instinctively closing a hand around her mysterious watch. "So how do I kill the... not-dog? Am I supposed to tell it what time it is?"

"Just press the button!" Saburo glanced behind the two. "Uh, there's some Shadows coming out here too. I'll handle those. In the meantime, try not to die, eh?"

Yuina was about to chew him out some more, but one look and he had already dashed out of the hospital, presumably handling the Shadows outside. With an exasperated sigh, she turned back to the Mutt, taking a few steps back - carefully, so as not to rouse it into chasing her.  _ This had better work. _ Much to her relief, the Mutt was advancing fairly slowly - but she doubted that would last long.

She maneuvered her thumb towards the button on the side of her watch, and all of a sudden, she felt a presence in her head. It was... indescribable; it was like there was someone sharing her mind. Feeling confidence surging within her, Yuina glared towards the Voracious Mutt, pressing the button on the watch as hard as she could and shouting the first word that came to her mind.

_ "PERSONA!" _

Yuina's voice echoed through the entire room, her body erupting into familiar blue light. The Mutt immediately yelped, backing away in surprise. Yuina hesitated, noticing a shadow cast in front of her, and whipped around - only to see Caulfield behind her, floating in a casual stance.  _ "About time." _

... Oh. So that was a Persona. Deciding to focus on the matter of life-or-death and set her questions aside, Yuina pointed towards the Voracious Mutt. "Look, I only now figured out what the watch was for. You gonna fight this thing or not?"

_ "I guess." _ Caulfield raised one hand, his eyes glinting from underneath his cap.  _ "Just tell me what to do." _

Yuina was about to protest that she had no idea what Caulfield  _ could _ do, but some more words popped into her head. Turning to face the Shadow, she took a cautious step back. "Uh... Agi?"

Caulfield chuckled, a ball of fire forming in his outstretched hand. As if he were some sort of baseball pitcher, he chucked it straight towards the Mutt's face, the fiery spell exploding against its mask and causing it to howl in pain. Something about the fire seemed to hurt it especially, the dog shaking its head in agitation.

"... Uh, okay, cool." Yuina decided to try the other thing she had in her mind, punching forwards. "Bash!"

The move was as simplistic as she expected. Caulfield landed on the ground and dashed straight towards the immobilized Shadow, raising one metal fist and clobbering it straight in the jaw. The Mutt let out a very undoglike shriek, its entire body seeming to fizzle for a second as it stumbled back.

Unfortunately, it wasn't finished yet - the blow had shocked it into regaining its bearings, and it snarled in desperation, racing towards Yuina and raking one of its claws across her chest. Yuina winced in pain, stumbling back and gripping at her shirt protectively - it hadn't hurt as much as she expected and hadn't even damaged her clothes, but the pain was still enough for her to grit her teeth. "Uh, keep killing it with fire, that seemed to work!"

_ "Sounds good." _ Caulfield generated another fiery sphere in his hand. The Mutt panicked, immediately backing away from Yuina, but before it could turn tail and flee, Caulfield lobbed the Agi straight into its side. The Shadow didn't have any time to let out a bark or cry before it exploded into black-and-red mist, any trace of it vanishing in an instant.

Yuina stared at where the Mutt had been for a few moments. Now that she wasn't in danger, her emotions were starting to feel distinguishable again. Shock, fear, confusion... the usual stuff she was expecting from now. Some awe in there too. But one thing surprised her above all else; something she hadn't been expecting from this life-threatening outing.

She felt good.  _ Really _ good.

"So, uh. Caulfield. I'm gonna check on how Saburo's doing, I guess. Thanks for saving my life." Yuina wasn't completely sure how to dismiss her Persona, but it probably wasn't rocket science; she brought one hand to her watch, clicking the button again.

_ "Anytime. See you around." _ Caulfield gave her a subtle nod before disappearing.

Exhaling sharply, Yuina stepped towards the hospital doors and pushed them aside. Sure enough, Saburo was fighting off a Shadow - some sort of knight with a red mask and a rapier... though given how well he was handling this one, it was safe to assume there had been more prior. With a cocky grin, he ducked underneath the Elegant Warrior's attempt to stab him and whipped out something from behind his back - a slingshot, with a rock loaded in. The Shadow had no time to react as he pulled back and sent the rock straight into its helmet, knocking it off in an instant. The head disappeared as soon as it hit the ground, and the rest of the Warrior's body followed suit.

"Don't bring a rapier to a gunfight." Saburo nonchalantly dusted off his clothes. "Or, y'know. Slingfight. Would that be the right term?" He looked towards Yuina questioningly. "Slingfight? Can we call it that?"

Now that the danger was clear, Yuina felt entirely comfortable with letting her words turn more cutting. "You tell me. You're the terminology expert." After cautiously looking around for more Shadows, she turned to face Saburo, practically glaring his way. "Okay, enough bullshit. Tell me what's going on here,  _ now. _ "

Saburo's smile faded, and he stuffed his slingshot in his coat pocket. "I probably do owe you an explanation." He sighed, folding his hands together. "I don't know a lot of the  _ why. _ But I do know a lot of the  _ what _ , the  _ where, _ and the  _ how. _ The  _ who _ probably isn't relevant right now, though if you really want, the  _ who _ is probably best answered by Shadows - "

"Spill it!" Yuina growled.

Saburo coughed. "Okay, look, you're in a place that only Persona users can access. You're the only other Persona user I've met, so it's mostly just you and me in that regard. How'd you get a Persona? Well... perhaps you've heard of Countdown?"

"Who hasn't?" Yuina spread her arms. "I had it before I woke up here. Is this what happens to everyone? They have to fight themselves and then get sent to time-stop land?"

Saburo pursed his lips, looking off to the side. "... Well, no. I didn't have to fight myself. But I did wake up in this place after the countdown hit zero. This is a little area I like to call the Ticking Hell."

Out of the stupid things she had learned today, that had to be the worst one. Yuina's tone was completely flat. "The  _ Ticking Hell. _ "

"Time Vortex was taken, Stop Dimension was too hard to say, and Shadow Land only got half of the picture across." Saburo brought one hand to his forehead with a sigh. "The point is, this is where you'll find all those Shadows. Time doesn't really flow here, so you'll get transported right back to where you were when you leave - which you can do with the watch, too. Just hold the button and it'll pop you right out."

The hospital, probably. Yuina glanced down to her watch. "And I'm guessing that's how I'd get back in here too? So if I was in the park and decided to go here, then even if I left the city, when I popped out I'd just end up in the park again? And time wouldn't pass at all?" God, the logistics of this place were hurting her head.

At that comment, Saburo uncomfortably shifted. He made eye contact with her, his expression turning deadly serious. "... You really shouldn't come back here. But yes."

That was the  _ last _ thing Yuina was expecting him to say. She blinked. "You're serious?"

"Shadow fighting isn't fun. This is dangerous. I risk my life every day here, cause I have to." Saburo's dark tone was a complete 180 from how he was talking earlier. Gone was any hint of joy or thrill in his expression, instead replaced by a face Yuina could only describe as... haunted. "It's my responsibility. But you don't have to do that. You can just stay in the real world and forget this ever happened."

Even though it was a little hard to take him seriously with how much of a tryhard he had been earlier, Yuina couldn't stop listening to him. The way he was speaking to her... he was  _ serious. _ This wasn't some guy trying to act like she was beneath him due to more experience; this was someone who was legitimately concerned for her future and was not only asking, but  _ pleading _ her to stay out of things. For her sake. It was enough that, just for a second, she legitimately felt... touched.

However, that feeling quickly faded, replaced by an uncomfortable sensation in her gut. She couldn't put her finger on it, but... something wasn't right. Even though Saburo was being sincere...

"Dude, you were obviously having a blast earlier." Yuina crossed her arms. "I appreciate it, but... if Shadow fighting's really that scary and dangerous, then why were you acting like a kid?"

Saburo leaned back, clearly offended. "Hey, sometimes I get a little...  _ excited _ , okay? Adrenaline will do that to you. Ninety percent of the time, though? Shadow fighting isn't fun. Trust me."

"Yep, got that impression from your quipping and grinning," Yuina said dryly.

"Hey! Don't diss the quips." Saburo pointed one finger in her direction accusingly. "That's my way to  _ cope. _ Just... stay out of this. It's not something you want to involve yourself in. Before you know it, things can get taken away from you, just like  _ that. _ " He snapped his fingers. "... Okay?"

As much as Yuina wanted to continue arguing, she couldn't really think of anything to say in response. Sure, she thought this was plenty fun, but... now was probably not the time to involve herself in something like this. "Okay. Got it. I'll just... head out, then."

Saburo nodded, some obvious relief in his expression. "Great. I'll see you around, Yuina. It was good to meet you." He brought one hand to his own watch. "Good luck in... whatever you may be doing from here, I dunno. School?"

"Sure." Yuina snorted, waving. "So, just to make sure: I'm gonna be completely fine when I get out? I'll just wake up wherever I was before... which was  _ probably _ the hospital?"

Saburo nodded, pressing down his thumb on the watch's button. "You'll be completely fine, assuming you didn't get hit by a car or something while Countdown was active. I dunno, anything could happen, but you'll probably be okay. Unless something bad happened, but the odds of that are - "

That was as far as he got before he disappeared in a burst of blue light.

"Reassuring," Yuina muttered under her breath, idly feeling a pang of disappointment that she didn't even get to see his Persona. What could  _ he _ get to fight for him? Sure, it didn't seem like he really needed it, considering how well he used that slingshot, but... it was just one of the many things she wanted to see more of.

Still, she didn't really want to stay here any longer. She firmly pressed down on the button of her own watch, instinctively closing her eyes as her body was bathed in light. Everything seemed to vanish around her, the loud ticking fading into nothing as her consciousness drifted away...


	8. A Glimpse Behind The Veil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - chapter on Wednesday after all, cause I finished! This one's more slower paced, and the next one will be as well. Don't worry; in Chapter 10, we'll go back to the high octane crazy action stuff. but in the meantime, please enjoy Chapter 8!
> 
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 3rd _

_ Nighttime _

Yuina had woken up three times in the span of what felt like an hour, but the third time was the only one where she actually felt well-rested. Gone was the persistent ticking from before, replaced by a gentle, steady beeping. As her eyes slowly opened, she was greeted by the scenery of the local hospital once more, the bright lights causing her to blink a couple times.

"... Mmm." Groaning, she slowly sat up, yawning hugely.

"Yuina!" Before she could get her bearings, Yuina suddenly found a pair of arms around her, jolting in surprise as she was suddenly wrapped in a crushing hug. The sudden touch jolted her back to her senses, her vision turning from blurry to clear in an instant.

What she saw was enough to make her feel... comfortable. Her mother's face was right next to hers, and not only was Kanako sitting nearby, but her father was standing over her with a concerned expression. After hugging Hitomi back somewhat clumsily, she awkwardly waved towards the trio. "Uhhh... hey. I'm feeling fine, before you ask."

"Are you sure?" Hitomi pressed one of her hands against Yuina's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever, but - "

"Mooooom," Yuina complained, but she couldn't bring herself to express any _actual_ annoyance. She idly glanced towards the time:  _ 10:00 PM _ . So it was pretty late... and she still had school tomorrow. Great. She brought one hand to her forehead. "I'm, uh... glad you're all here."

"Of course we're here!" Kanako crossed her arms. "I was worried sick when I heard about what happened to you in class! You're lucky your teacher brought you to the school nurse!"

Rokuro nodded in agreement. "We came right after school. Your teachers, thankfully, understood the situation; you won't be penalized for missing classes or any assignments they may hand out." He met her eyes firmly. "They also said you should stay home from school tomorrow, even if you're feeling fine - just for safety reasons."

Yuina exhaled slowly. "... Well, guess that's the end of the school week."

She hesitated, making eye contact with Kanako. Just from a glance, it was obvious enough that Kanako knew, or at least suspected, this had to do with Countdown. She gave her a look meant to convey that they'd talk about it later, which was enough for Kanako to relax. Now probably wasn't the time to discuss her experiences... especially in front of her parents. If they knew she was fighting not-dogs and nearly murdering fake versions of her they'd probably ground her for a month at best.

... Come to think of it... She glanced down to her wrist idly, noticing the watch from before still on. So this wasn't some fever dream... all of that had actually happened. There was another world out there, beyond her fingertips - one that had to do with Countdown. Even if she still didn't understand the whole situation, well... it was still a hell of a revelation.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. Hitomi made eye contact with her, pursing her lips. "You weren't feeling well this morning, either. Why didn't you tell me?"

Yuina opened her mouth, only to stop for a moment. Normally she would never mince words, but... in front of her parents like this, she could feel some hesitation. Casting a brief glance to Kanako, she gulped as her friend gave her an encouraging nod, before turning back to face her parents and taking a deep breath. "I... I didn't think you'd believe me. Or you would've made me go anyway."

Hitomi shook her head sadly. "Why would you think that, Yuina? We're your parents. We want you to be okay."

Yuina grit her teeth. "... I wish I could believe you, Mom. But I heard what you told the faculty." Feeling that buried anger and resentment coming to the forefront in an instant, she clenched her fists. "Yesterday, one of the teachers said you told her I was someone to watch out for, or something like that. It was obvious enough it wasn't anything positive. I mean, I guess you guys have every right to tell them I'm a problem student, but."

She blinked. Were those tears in her eyes? She wiped her face with her sleeve, sniffing. "... I don't  _ want _ to be a problem student. I want you guys to... to be proud of me. Like you were back then. I d-don't want you to feel ashamed of me."

Though the relief was still obvious in her parents' faces, both of them had frowns that Yuina could only describe as upset. Hitomi slowly took a step back, glancing to Rokuro expectantly. Despite looking somewhat uncomfortable, he pursed his lips. "... Yuina, it's true. You haven't been the same ever since we moved here, and... I don't know what to do to keep you in line. I've tried hooking you up with a new baseball team, talking to a counselor... none of it worked. It felt like you lost that spark for life you used to have."

Yuina felt ready to cry again at that, but she didn't - her father was using the tone of voice where he definitely had something to add. And he did, raising his index finger. "But... I don't want you to  _ ever _ think I'm ashamed of you, or that I don't love you. You're my only daughter. No one can replace you. The fact that you're willing to push yourself so hard, well... it's not what I  _ want, _ but it was the wake-up call I needed."

He kneeled down slightly, placing a hand on Yuina's shoulder. "I know you're trying. And I want you to know that I know. Okay?"

Hitomi nodded approvingly, placing her hands on her hips. "Yuina, I... we told the staff about potential problems because we weren't really sure that we could help you anymore. Maybe they could. It's not because we've decided you're just a problem anymore. Okay?" She smiled sincerely. "We love you."

Yuina couldn't take it anymore. She buried her face in her dad's shoulder wordlessly, wrapping her arms around him - her sobbing wasn't particularly loud, but she could feel the tears streaming down her face. She felt one set of arms wrap around her, and then another - distinct embraces, one of which she hadn't felt in years. Carefully, she adjusted her posture to hug both her parents, letting her guard drop... just for a bit.

Really, she didn't want this moment to end, but... she did pull away eventually, making sure to wipe her eyes again. "S-Sorry for staining your suit, Dad."

Rokuro looked over to his now wet shoulder with a soft chuckle. "It's fine. It'll go away."

Feeling more comfortable now, Yuina took a few breaths to stabilize herself before folding her hands on her lap. "I... I know I've made a lotta mistakes. And I don't wanna do that anymore. I'll... I'll try to be better. For you guys."

Both parents nodded, glancing at Kanako. "We'll go check you out of here," Hitomi noted. "That should give you some time to talk with her, too." After smiling appreciatively towards the young girl, she made her way out, Rokuro following close behind.

Kanako was still for a moment before scooting closer to Yuina. She kept her voice down, glancing towards the other nurses. "So you really mean it, huh?"

"Yeah. I..." Yuina shook her head. "I don't know if I can just  _ find _ something that'll make me excited to enjoy life again, but... a lot happened while I was out, and it's not stuff I wanna ignore anymore." Dejected, she shook her head. No, she had to find something... something that could give her the drive to make herself better.

... There was one thing, come to think of it. Something within her strange outing that had made her feel great.

Those thoughts drifted to the back of Yuina's mind as Kanako leaned in. "Eh? You were unconscious..." She raised an eyebrow.

"Well... not exactly." Cautiously, Yuina raised her wrist, noticing Kanako's eyes go wide as she stared at the watch. "I, uh... had an adventure and got this out of it. It's..."

She trailed off, side-eyeing the various doctors and nurses in the room. "It's not something to talk about here. I'm gonna be home tomorrow, so if you wanna head over after school, then we can talk about it after or something. In person, over Chaos, whatever." She shrugged. "I've got a hell of a story to tell you. It's gonna sound fucking crazy, but... trust me, everything I tell you is gonna be true."

Kanako stared at the watch for a minute longer before giggling softly. "Well, something has to be wrong. The Yuina I know wouldn't wear a wristwatch at gunpoint."

Yuina couldn't help it; she didn't just chuckle, she laughed, covering her mouth afterwards. God, it felt good to have Kanako by her side again. Before she could talk with her friend any further, she spotted a nurse leaning in the doorway. "Yuina Hisakawa?"

"That's me." Yuina raised one hand, hopping off the bed. "Guessing I'm all set?"

The nurse nodded - after making sure Yuina didn't need support, she marched off quickly. Yuina turned back to Kanako, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "So, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." Kanako grinned, before scratching her head. "Though, uh... I guess we will be together for a bit longer. I had to get a ride with your parents to visit you in the first place, and I'm hoping they'll take me back too."

"You know what?" Yuina started towards the exit, making sure her friend was by her side. "I'm cool with that."


	9. The Only One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Chapter 9 is out! Next chapter is a big one, so look forward to that! I hope you enjoy~  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 4th _

_ Afternoon _

Yuina wasn't really the type to skip school. Despite not enjoying it, she knew that was one of the things she  _ couldn't _ get away with under any circumstances. Threatening jerks? Sure. Threatening teachers? In rare cases. But deciding not to show up was something even she didn't really wanna consider, even if she'd rather be spending the day doing anything else.

So it came as a pleasant surprise when her parents had not only asked, but  _ insisted _ she stay home. She hadn't fully trusted them - at least, when it came to missing school - when they were talking in the hospital, but it looked like they were serious. 

Thus, she had spent the day huddled in bed, with her mother occasionally bringing things up for her... mostly food and drinks. She took a sip of hot chocolate, feeling a little smile come onto her lips; even when she had felt more distant from her parents, this was one thing that  _ never _ got old. She'd have to ask her mom for her hot chocolate recipe when she was older; to this day, she still had only enjoyed it the way her mom brewed it. Store bought, restaurant order - none of it compared to Hitomi's recipe.

She idly looked down to the bottom right of her screen; 3:35 PM. Kanako would probably be here soon. Sure enough, a message popped up on Chaos, which she was quick to open.

[4/4 3:35 PM] gentlegarden: Hi, I'm on my way! I'm just unpacking at home real quick.

[4/4 3:36 PM] ThirdBass: i already told mom and dad you were coming so dw about that

Yuina scooted back slightly on her bed; she hadn't really felt tired, but... all day, she had been lying here and wondering how to approach this subject. Kanako would probably believe her; the issue was more conveying everything that had happened. Even now, she didn't feel like she had a good mental checklist. She really didn't want to miss anything.

... Eh, she'd worry about that as it came. It was pretty hard to forget everything that had happened yesterday.

A minute or two later, Yuina cocked her head at the sound of the door opening downstairs, along with her mom and Kanako briefly chatting indistinguishably. After what sounded like gratitude, she heard the stairs creaking as Kanako approached, stopping with a polite knock on her door.

"Kanako, you know you don't gotta knock, right?" Yuina called, getting out from underneath her blanket and setting her laptop aside.

"I know, just... habits." Kanako opened the door, gently closing it behind her - much to Yuina's amusement, she spotted a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Her friend was quick to maneuver to Yuina's bed, taking a seat next to her. She seemed relieved that Yuina wasn't showing any obvious signs of sickness, but still pursed her lips. "... How have you been?"

Yuina shrugged, scooting next to Kanako and letting her legs dangle over the edge of the bed. "Totally fine. I didn't even really feel sick, but my parents actually  _ wanted _ me to stay home. Go figure." She stretched her arms with a slight yawn. "I've pretty much been in bed all day. Played bass once or twice. Mom brought me breakfast and lunch, so I can't really say it's been all bad." She smirked, sipping some of her hot chocolate.

Kanako sipped alongside her, giggling. "Parental room service sounds like a good way to spend your day."

Yuina allowed herself a smile, though it faded rather quickly as she looked over at Kanako's face. Spotting a worried look, she stared as Kanako hurriedly averted her eyes. "You're not very good at hiding how you feel, y'know."

"Well, what do you expect?" Kanako sighed, her enthusiasm fading in an instant. "I was worried sick about you, Yuina. I knew you'd probably be fine, since my other friend with Countdown was, but it didn't change how bad it was to see you so... helpless." She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

_ Oh... _ Yuina winced, looking away. Suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable. "Your friend, uh. Might not. Be okay."

Kanako looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

"Okay. This is gonna sound kind of crazy and unbelievable, but... I had a hell of an experience yesterday." Yuina forced herself to make eye contact with Kanako again, her eyes narrowing. "It's going to sound like a total fever dream. But, well..." She briefly glanced at her watch before returning to her best friend, her gaze intense. "I want you to know that I'm not joking about a thing here, or trying to fuck with you. You're..."

She hesitated briefly. "... I don't have anyone else I can talk to about this. Promise you'll trust me. Please."

Kanako blinked slowly, though she didn't break eye contact with Yuina. She folded her hands together, her stunned expression quickly contorting into a confident one. "I promise."

Yuina nodded. Then, after a deep breath, she told Kanako about everything that had happened yesterday. From the moment she realized she was hearing voices, to the fight against her Shadow, all the way to the Ticking Hell and Saburo's final warning towards her. She wasn't sure how long she had been talking, but it felt oddly natural talking about these supernatural experiences; like they were just another occurrence. The only thing she left out was the part about Shadow Yuina taunting her over their friendship. Just thinking about it made her stomach churn with a mix of rage... and fear.

Finally, when she was done, she turned away from Kanako, not wanting to look at her face. She had caught several emotions during that, though none of them really processed in her head as positive or negative. "... There you have it. That's everything."

Well, almost everything.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kanako also avoiding eye contact, looking rather troubled; her voice was equally unsure. "Yuina, I... I don't know what to say. I believe you, but... you're talking about facing weird demon things, and another world, and..."

Yuina was about to say a biting remark that would hopefully ease the tension, but she jumped in surprise at the sudden feeling of arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"U-Uh." She awkwardly turned to Kanako, slipping her arms around her and returning the hug. The two had hugged before, but... she hadn't been expecting that. She was about to say more, but trailed off, just enjoying the embrace... and the fact that her friend's first instinct upon hearing the troubled things she had gone through was not to ask questions, not to express her thoughts on this whole mess... but to comfort her.

The two embraced each other for a moment longer before Yuina slowly pulled away, sighing in relief. "... Thanks. I really needed that."

"I thought you would." Kanako smiled a bit sadly, giving Yuina the feeling that she wasn't the only one who needed some comfort. "I... I guess the person I thought was fine isn't, huh? They're just possessed?"

Yuina shifted uncomfortably. "I-I mean. There might be some way to get them back. I don't know how this Shadow stuff works yet - "

"No, it's... it's fine. I didn't know them too well, it's just someone I talked to on occasion." Kanako shook her head. "It's just... it feels like watching someone die. Nothing new. It's still sad, but... there's nothing I can really do about it."

Even though she sounded like she was trying to be optimistic, Yuina could hear the pain in her voice. Unable to stop herself, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. I..." 

Internally, she groaned; what was she supposed to say? Kanako always knew how to comfort her; she seemed to always know what to say when she was upset. She had to do the same thing. But nothing was coming to mind, no matter how hard she thought. Maybe... maybe getting her mind off it would be smart. "Do you wanna see my Persona?"

Kanako looked up in surprise. "U-Um. Are you sure that's a good idea? What if your parents come up here, or..."

Ugh. Yeah, that was a stupid thing to say. "Right." Yuina halfheartedly leaned back on the bed, lying down and staring at the ceiling. "I, uh. I wish I could say something that made all of this alright. I'm not good with words like you are," she admitted, feeling a pang in her chest. She didn't like being vulnerable, but... here she was, spilling her guts out to Kanako. "I don't want you to be upset."

Kanako sighed. "It's... hard. But I'll get over it. Really! I, umm. You know I get better when people around me are happy, but..." She turned her attention down to Yuina. "It feels like something's still bothering you. I'd rather talk about that."

Yuina nodded in understanding. "Okay. Yeah, you're right. It's just... something I've been thinking about ever since I got back. To the hospital, I mean." Her gaze didn't move from a particular spot on the ceiling. Nothing really interesting about it, just... something to look at that wasn't Kanako. "I wanna be better for my parents and all. But I don't really have fun with most stuff. Baseball's not that great anymore, bass is just a hobby thing, and obviously school's kinda ass. But..."

She took a deep breath. "Saburo, the other Persona guy... he told me I shouldn't go fight Shadows. But when I was doing it, like... I felt good. It felt like I was actually doing some great stuff. Shadows are threatening people, and I can actually stop 'em from possessing other people. What I went through, I... I don't think anyone deserves that."

Yuina exhaled heavily, feeling her body deflate. "I wanna fight Shadows, cause then I'll be happy. Then maybe I can get better with my parents and all that. But like Saburo said, it's dangerous, and I don't really know what I'm getting into. So I don't really know what to do."

Kanako nodded in understanding, just watching her friend for a minute or two. Normally, the pity in her face would have pissed Yuina off, but coming from her, she knew it meant well. Yuina still didn't meet her gaze, though, just content with lying here. If Kanako didn't reply to her, well... she wouldn't judge her. She had just thrust a lot of supernatural crap onto her with very little time to process it. What was she supposed to say?

Much to her surprise, though, Kanako did speak. "... Go for it."

Yuina slowly turned back, tilting her head upwards. "Huh?"

"Yuina, I know a lot of people see you as... just some punk, or whatever. But I know you. And when you say things like this..." Kanako bit her lip. "I know you've got a good heart. And, if I'm being honest..." She uncomfortably shifted. "I know you're probably just gonna go fight Shadows anyway. The allure of another world, the mystery... even if  _ I _ told you not to go, you'd probably go. And if it makes you happy, then I don't think I should really stop you."

As much as Yuina wanted to disagree, she couldn't. "... Yeah. So you're saying I should? Follow my heart and all that?"

Kanako nodded, a little more firmly than before. "Just... be sure to be safe, okay? I know you're strong, but... this is way above some street-level fight, from what you've said. If you..." She gulped. "... if something happened to you, then what would I tell the school? What would I tell your parents? And how do you think I'd - "

"Chill." Yuina shot up almost immediately. "I know it's kinda freaky. But I'm gonna be careful. I won't pick fights with anything obviously outta my league." She folded her hands on her lap with a grunt. "Alright? Trust me. I can get myself out of that place anytime with my watch; if I'm getting hurt too badly, I'll just hold the button and bam, I'll be out."

This seemed to placate Kanako enough, causing her to sigh in relief. "Okay. I trust you." She smiled sincerely. "Are you gonna head in tomorrow?"

"Yeah, probably in the afternoon. I'll tell my parents I'm going out or something." Yuina cracked her knuckles. "Gonna bring one of my bats, too, just in case. It felt a little weird not having something to bash the not-dog with."

Kanako giggled, crossing her legs on the bed. "Good luck. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Yuina nodded, kicking her feet idly. She took a sip of some of her hot chocolate, pleased at how it still tasted good even after cooling down. As she saw Kanako getting up, she held up one hand. "Hey, you're leaving? You haven't even finished your drink." She gestured to Kanako's half-full cup on the bed, smirking.

Kanako seemed somewhat surprised. "Oh! I just thought you, umm. Wanted some time to think, or something."

"You kidding? I'd spend the whole day with you if I could." Yuina waved one hand lazily. "Get over here, girl. We can hang out for a bit if you want."

Delighted, Kanako made her way next to her friend, sitting back where she was.


	10. More Than A Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - here's the first real Shadow fight, and it's probably not what you're expecting... ;D Twists and turns await! Please enjoy!  
> Fight music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziSSKDmjfX4  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 5th _

_ Afternoon _

To anyone else, Yuina could only imagine how she looked. Huddled up behind a tree in the local park with nothing but a baseball bat... she was lucky there was no one around to see her, otherwise she would probably have to explain she wasn't trying to do a stakeout. As far as her parents were concerned, she had just gone to play for a bit... and if Saburo's explanation was right, she'd be right back at the time she started when she got out of the Ticking Hell.

As the thought of Saburo drifted through her mind, she pursed her lips, instinctively recalling his warnings one more time. She looked down at the watch on her wrist. This was probably her last chance to back out.

... Why was she thinking about that? There was  _ no _ way she was backing out at this rate. Her eyes narrowed, and she closed her fingers, praying to... someone. She didn't really know. Maybe Caulfield? Or maybe... that weird long-nosed guy from her dreams. She didn't remember his name at the moment. Still, she closed her eyes briefly, sending out a silent plea.

_ Let me make it back okay. Please. _

With that, she held down the button on her watch, her body tensing in anticipation.

_ April 5th _

_ The Ticking Hell _

A second passed.

Then another.

And then another.

Just when Yuina thought she hadn't actually transported, she noticed something... or, rather, the lack of something. Gone was the light breeze of the afternoon, replaced by total dead air... and the sound of a clock, gently ticking away. Several clocks, maybe. It was hard to tell.

Still, she opened her eyes, lowering her arm and curiously looking up towards the sky. The clouds weren't moving, and the warmth from the sun, while still present, somehow seemed... still. She couldn't help but feel a pang of discomfort, but chose to ignore it instead, hesitantly raising her bat. She was here. It was time to find some Shadows.

...

Yuina lowered her bat, her expression turning blank in an instant. As far as she could see, there was no one here. She took a few steps out from the tree, spreading her arms threateningly. "Uh? Shadow freaks? Anyone gonna fight me?"

She stood there in anticipation, half expecting another not-dog to leap at her and maul her face off, but the only indication of movement was some of her hair getting in front of her eyes. Annoyed, she brushed it out of her face, sighing and tapping her watch once. Caulfield flashed to life in front of her, and she crossed her arms. "Hey, uh. Caulfield. You know way more about Shadows than I do, right? Considering you were one?"

_ "I know enough." _ Caulfield sighed, lowering his head to meet her eyes.  _ "What's your question?" _

"Where the fuck do I find them?" Yuina's tone was matter-of-fact. "I expected to get jumped by now, seriously."

Caulfield chuckled softly.  _ "You know Shadows are spawned from people, right? So maybe the reason you haven't seen any is cause you're in a goddamn field." _

... Right. From what her own Shadow had said, Yuina had "made" her, or whatever. If anything, she probably  _ wanted _ people to be around in these kinds of situations. "Great. Guess I'll head over to the neighborhood and see what's what."

She pressed the button on her watch again, dismissing Caulfield, before slinging her bat over her shoulder and marching towards the park exit.

The walk back to the main streets of town was... uneventful, yet surreal. As Yuina expected, she started to catch sight of a few people walking about, or even the occasional car here and there - all frozen in time. Nothing actually looked wrong with the locale - the houses still looked (mostly) comfy and homely, there weren't creepy demons coming out of the cracks in the asphalt... and yet, the people frozen mid-motion lended the air of a horror film, and not the kind Yuina would enjoy watching.

In an effort to dispel the tension, she summoned Caulfield again as she walked, deciding to make conversation with her Persona before the relentless ticking drove her crazy. "So, Caulfield - can people with Countdown only catch Shadows?"

_ "Not necessarily. Countdown is reserved for the big boys... and girls." _ Caulfield adjusted his hat.  _ "Every time you resist the will of change, even if it's for just a second, there's a chance you'll make a new monster, even if they don't stay latched onto you. The ones from Countdown are the strongest, obviously." _

Yuina raised an eyebrow. "So a bunch of weak Shadows could've come from the people complaining about that ice cream shop down the street changing their prices?"

Caulfield's only response was a laugh. Yuina smirked, her steps slowing down. "Okay, jokes aside. Shadows don't have to stay on one person, then? Countdown is just what happens when they do?"

Her Persona floated behind her, lazily drifting along the air.  _ "Yeah, basically. And sometimes you can get Personas out of it. You're one of the only ones in recent memory to actually do that, so kudos, I guess?" _

Ugh. This was all confusing as all hell. Yuina pursed her lips, but before she could ask Caulfield any more questions, something in the distance caught her eye. 

Something crawling across the street.

In a flash, Yuina dismissed Caulfield and dashed in the general direction of the Shadow, quickly ducking behind a frozen car. Idly, she imagined what would have happened if time resumed with no warning. Would the car just smash into her and send her flying? Sure, it would've sucked, but. It would have been a  _ little _ funny. Probably.

She shook her head.  _ Yuina. Focus. _ Carefully, she peeked out from behind the car, observing the Shadow from a closer distance. It didn't look like anything special - just a black blob crawling across the ground with flimsy arms. It looked weak... almost suspiciously so.

Yuina wanted to summon her Persona again, but that risked being seen. She pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. Caulfield's voice had been in her head... so maybe...?

Experimentally, she whispered, "Caulfield, is that thing gonna transform if I attack it?"

Much to her relief, a response  _ did _ come from her Persona, echoing through her mind.  _ "Probably. Every Shadow has a normal form and a battle form, even the ones attached to a person. Since they're usually the stronger ones, they get a more defined normal form that takes after them - and a wicked battle form, too." _

That explained why her Shadow looked like a punk rocker... though her "battle form" was still up in the air. Pushing that thought out of her mind, Yuina took a deep breath, raising her bat. "Well, let's get the jump on it."

After just a second of anticipation, she leapt out from the car, dashing straight for the Shadow and swinging her bat.

The Shadow had no time to react as Yuina smashed it straight across the body, sending it sliding a fair distance down the street. Satisfied, Yuina resummoned Caulfield, watching as the Shadow's red eyes turned to her and it hissed violently. Its body began to contort and stretch like clay, forming into a much larger shape in an instant, a new texture coming across its body as it assumed the form of...

Yuina blinked. She didn't remember that much from middle school, but she remembered enough from studying for biology tests with Kanako to recognize the Shadow's new shape as a cell. She didn't recognize  _ all _ of the parts, but she was able to identify a see-through membrane surrounding the cell's purple nucleus. The other objects floating around within the cell just looked completely random - a strand of wire, a coffee mug... and an orange mask with a circular design for the face.

"Caulfield?" Yuina resisted looking back at her Persona. "Any idea what the hell that is?"

_ "Disrespected Cell." _ Caulfield's response was dismissive as he flared up some fire in his hand.  _ "Kill it." _

"That was the plan." Already feeling a familiar spike of adrenaline, Yuina raised her bat in preparation. "Light it up!" She watched in satisfaction as Caulfield flew in front of her, chucking a fireball straight at the Disrespected Cell with pinpoint accuracy.

Unfortunately, the fire seemed to do little more than annoy the Cell. Yuina's smug expression wavered as the Cell simply wobbled a bit, letting out a slightly irritated hiss. It pressed up against the ground before hurling itself straight at Yuina, soaring through the air in an attempt to crush Yuina under its girth - 

\- only to be met with a crushing home-run swing from a baseball bat. While the force wasn't enough to propel it that far, it was enough for Yuina to stop the Shadow dead in its tracks, and she was quick to follow up with a kick straight to its nucleus. The Disrespected Cell made a whining sound as it shrunk back, its gelatinous body taking a few seconds to return to normal.

_ So this thing is heat proof or something? _ Yuina couldn't help but crack a smirk at the thought of her baseball bat hurting the Shadow more than magic fire. Still, it left her with another avenue of attack. "Uh, just smash it, I guess?"

Caulfield darted in for a strike at the Cell's core, but it flung itself back towards him, smacking him straight in the chest. Yuina stumbled back in surprise, feeling a sharp pain in her head as her vision suddenly turned blurred, and she fought to keep a standing position. She could see a vague, indistinct shape that was  _ probably _ her Persona floating back to her, thankfully keeping the Cell from delivering a follow-up blow.

As Yuina's vision cleared and the pain turned to a dull throb, she grumbled, "Great, so having you out just gives them an extra way to smack  _ me _ around?"

Caulfield, unfazed, brushed his outfit off with one metallic hand.  _ "Hey, it's this or no fire. Besides, you're supposed to kill the goddamn Shadow before it kills you." _

"Thanks for the sage advice," Yuina muttered under her breath, raising her bat again. The Cell's core wobbled, and Yuina's reflexes kicked in; she dove out of the way as the Shadow launched a blue beam straight above her head, narrowly missing lopping off a chunk of her hair - or freezing it, in this case; Yuina could feel the air around her drop a few degrees from the Bufu spell.

... Wait, the  _ Bufu _ spell? "Who's naming these?" Yuina grumbled, rolling closer to the Disrespected Cell and springing to her feet. As it lunged at her, she smashed her bat into its nucleus again, and  _ this _ time she was sure to wordlessly beckon her Persona as it reeled back, stunned. Caulfield flew in, delivering a brutal punch that ripped straight through the Shadow's body. The Cell let out an animalistic squeal, the mask inside its body tilting down at the arm in disbelief.

_ "Rest in peace," _ Caulfield grunted.

Then, he pulled out his arm, and the Shadow exploded into eldritch particles. Satisfied, Yuina kicked at where it was before standing straight, sighing. Just as she suspected, that had served as a suitable spike to her energy, and it had barely landed a scratch on her. She felt a  _ little _ tired from the one good hit the Shadow had landed on her, but she was used to getting roughed up a bit; as far as she was concerned, this was barely different from any street-level fight.

"First year of high school and I'm already smashing demons flat? Not bad." Yuina whistled to herself, dismissing Caulfield. She was about to make progress, but something glinting on the ground where the Shadow had disintegrated caught her eye. Raising an eyebrow, she bent down to a kneeling position, closing a hand around whatever it had left behind.

Much to her surprise, while she didn't  _ feel _ like she had grabbed onto anything, a voice echoed through her head - but not that of Caulfield's; this one sounded far cheerier... and a bit sultry, at that.  _ "Hey, you freed me." _

Yuina blinked, opening her palm. Was the blue light in her palm  _ talking _ to her? "Uhhhh... you're welcome?"

_ "Well, I guess I have to repay you. I can help fight for you, if you just give me the word."  _ the mysterious voice mumbled.

Yuina stared for a moment. Given how strange this place was, well... she wasn't completely sure if she wanted to say yes. Still, her gut was telling her she probably needed all the help she could get, and after only a moment of reluctance, she nodded. "Uh, sure. Go nuts."

The light in her hand shimmered before flowing up into the air, taking a new form before her - that of a demoness with blonde hair, blue wings, and black boots.  _ "Hey. I'm Succubus." _ She waved boredly, tail swishing behind her.  _ "I'm here to help fulfill your heart's desires, whether you like it or not." _

Yuina watched in awe as Succubus disappeared. That was definitely a Persona - same blue light as Caulfield and all that, but... how was it gonna help her? "Hey, Caulfield, uh. Do you know that gal?" she mumbled under her breath.

_ "No, we're not acquainted." _ Succubus's refined voice answering her caused her to jump involuntarily.

"... What the fuck?" Yuina cautiously looked down at her watch - maybe it had some kinda answer? She scrutinized the timepiece's surface for a bit, looking out for any changes. Already, she noticed a fourth clock hand extending out from the center - unlike the others, it was frozen, pointing straight towards the "1" spot. Experimentally, she closed two fingers around the ring surrounding the watch, tilting it counter-clockwise.

Sure enough, the new fourth hand snapped back to 12, and it felt like something in her head changed. Slowly, Yuina spoke. "... You here now, Caulfield?"

Caulfield hummed in satisfaction.  _ "Heh. You're really lost without me, huh?" _

"Well, that's all great to know." Having more than one Persona was kinda neat. Happy with what she had learned, Yuina raised her bat over her shoulder again, ready to head off for some more Shadow fighting - only for something in the distance to catch her eye. No, not something... some _ one. _ A human figure, watching her from afar - any facial features were blocked out by a hood they were wearing. However, the coat the person was wearing looked... familiar...

"Saburo?" Yuina's curiosity was piqued. She broke out into a sprint towards her fellow Persona user. Almost immediately, he spun around and sprinted down an alleyway, but Yuina was quick to follow him, moving far faster than he ever could. He wasn't really slow, but it was easy enough for her to start to catch up.

And yet, as Yuina drew closer, following him into the alley, she felt a slight disturbance in her stomach. There was another sound going through the area, blending in with the ticking... a sound that seemed to be made with every step Saburo took. It was almost like... scuttling.

Still, that only served to fuel her determination - and not a moment too soon, as Saburo came to a screeching halt at the arrival of a big wire fence before him. Yuina lowered her bat, watching him for a moment. "Hey, uh. Dude?"

Saburo didn't respond. Yuina sighed in exasperation. "Is this about fighting Shadows anyway, even when you told me not to? Look, that's  _ my _ decision. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I'm gonna fight them whether you like it or not. And you don't gotta baby me or whatever, okay? That's  _ my _ problem."

This time, Yuina was okay with Saburo not saying anything. Maybe he just had some other eccentric speech to give her that he was trying to cook up. She watched him attentively, noticing him beginning to move. He turned to face her - 

\- and Yuina nearly fell on her behind as two piercing yellow eyes greeted her from underneath the shadows of the coat. She couldn't see the rest of his face, but she recognized that particular shade of yellow all too well... along with the purple smoke now visible around him. 

**_"That's... not exactly what I'm worried about."_ ** His distorted voice only served to confirm her fear.

Yuina stumbled, planting her bat on the ground firmly to regain her balance. She took a cautionary step backwards, taking a defensive stance almost immediately. "... I probably should've guessed something was wrong earlier, but. What the  _ hell _ are you doing possessing him, Shadow?"

Shadow Saburo let out a chuckle, his arms folded behind his back.  **_"We've come to a mutual agreement. His pain was just too much to bear, so I'm taking over. It's that simple."_ **

_ What...? _ Yuina raised an eyebrow. From what she knew about her own Shadow, coupled with what Saburo and Caulfield had said... "But doesn't he have a Persona already? You should be fighting  _ with _ him!"

**_"Ah... of course."_ ** Shadow Saburo raised his arm, bringing one hand to the watch. Immediately, Yuina took even more steps back, keeping her thumb on her own watch just in case he launched an attack at her. She had no idea what his Persona did, and it'd probably be pretty different from fighting a Shadow. She raised her bat in anticipation as he clicked the button on his watch...

... only for absolutely nothing to happen.

Yuina stared. She looked behind herself, expecting his Persona to leap out from one of the connected alleys and maul her, but nothing came. Cautiously, she looked back to Saburo. "Are you blocking his Persona or something?"

**_"You really are daft, aren't you?"_ ** Even with most of his facial features being impossible to make out, Yuina could practically feel the scowl aimed her way.  **_"I don't HAVE a Persona! It was all just a charade. I can use the watch to transport in and out of the Ticking Hell... and that's it."_ **

He folded his arms behind his back again.  **_"This watch isn't mine. It's from somebody I lost. I've held onto that pain for years and years, and yet I've refused to move on from it. It's time for this cycle of anguish and regret to end! Even if I have to break it myself!"_ ** The aura around him flared up, and his yellow eyes seemed to flash with anger.  **_"Fighting Shadows has been nothing but a detriment to my life. It's a daily reminder of what happened to my sister. And it ends tonight!"_ **

Yuina wished she could sort through all of the emotions she was feeling at Shadow Saburo's speech. There was definitely some hurt in there for being lied to, along with anger at the Shadow for controlling him... maybe some sadness at the whole story. But there was one that stood above all else: sympathy. She could hear, maybe even  _ feel _ the complete and utter torment in his voice. And for a moment, that was enough for her to consider walking away. Maybe Saburo's life  _ would _ be better if he could just... let go of all that.

But that was only for a moment. She glared towards Shadow Saburo, raising her bat. "Dude... I get what you've gone through. I haven't lost anyone like that, but... I can't imagine how long you must have been carrying this and how much it hurt you. But this isn't the way to get over your grief."

She made eye contact with the Shadow, speaking not just to it, but... to the person who had rescued her. "I saw how much fun you had fighting Shadows. You don't have to hide that part of yourself. Don't sign your life away to this fucking freak!"

For a moment, it almost seemed like she had reached the Saburo deep within, as Shadow Saburo stood completely still for a moment, not even blinking. Then, he shook his head, sighing.  **_"Ah... haven't completely settled into the new body yet. You almost got me there."_ ** Even though he wasn't taking any steps, Yuina could've sworn she heard the scuttling sound from before - louder this time, even.  **_"But I'm afraid I'm the one in charge now. And if you have a problem with that, well... I'm going to have to demonstrate my warnings to you personally."_ **

Even though she knew this guy was probably  _ way _ stronger than the other Shadows she had fought, Yuina felt no hesitation in stepping forwards, pointing her bat straight at his face in challenge. "Go ahead. But you know what? I'm willing to bet I can show you why I felt confident in disregarding those warnings." Her eyes glittered in anticipation. "You wanna find out?"

Shadow Saburo brought both hands out from his back, folding them in front of himself.  **_"We'll see if you can back up your words. Cause if you can't..."_ ** His yellow eyes dimmed.  **_"I'm going to enjoy tearing you to pieces!"_ **

Then, his neck suddenly snapped upwards.

Yuina jolted back at the sudden  _ CRACK _ , ready to dash to Saburo and help him. However, she quickly had second thoughts as two massive protrusions suddenly erupted from beneath his hood, planting themselves on the ground firmly. The two insectoid legs twitched as the Shadow's clothes seemed to melt, slowly taking the shape of a large, bulbous abdomen. Yuina could only watch in transfixed horror as Shadow Saburo sprouted six more legs, his transformation completing in seconds.

With just a few simple changes, he had gone from a fairly normal-looking humanoid into a massive, fleshy spider covered in lacerations and scars that made Yuina's stomach churn just from a glance. Two fleshy eyestalks sprouted from the arachnid's head, both of them looking down at her in bloodthirsty glee.

**_"I am a Shadow, the herald of change!"_ ** Shadow Saburo screeched, his rotting mandibles clacking together.  **_"I'll fill up all that emptiness inside by devouring you whole!"_ **

Yuina nervously took another step back, feeling a bit of bile in her throat just from watching the Shadow's scars pulsate. She forced her nauseated sensations to the side, raising her bat threateningly. "You wanna get squished?"

**_"I'll be the one doing the squishing here!"_ ** Shadow Saburo cackled, his arachnid body crouching down. Yuina instinctively dove forward as he leapt high into the air, crashing down straight where she used to be and stabbing both of his front legs into the concrete. Attempting to capitalize on the opportunity, Yuina hurriedly got to her feet and swung her bat at Saburo's abdomen, but he whirled around with frightening speed, deflecting the force of her blow with a swipe from one of his forelegs.

Yuina grit her teeth, raising her bat in a defensive stance. Now that the two had switched positions,  _ her _ back was to the wall - or in this case, the fence. Shadow Saburo seemed to realize this, as he raised his other foreleg and delivered a vicious arced swipe that forced Yuina to back up due to the alley's cramped space. With obvious glee in his eyes, the Shadow swiped yet again, getting Yuina to take another step back - the amount of space she had to dodge was rapidly dropping.

_ I need to start playing offensively. _ Yuina kept her bat raised defensively, but as Shadow Saburo raised one leg for another strike, she darted in and smashed him straight over the head, right in between his eye stalks. He let out a guttural hiss, and Yuina quickly tapped her watch, summoning Caulfield to blast him straight in the eyes with a big burst of fire.

**_"GRGH!"_ ** Shadow Saburo snarled, scuttling back instinctively. Feeling a sense of triumph, Yuina took a moment to consider her options; she needed to get out from her current position, or Saburo would just be able to pin her again. She couldn't keep up her current plan of "attack occasionally" forever; Shadow Saburo was way bigger and stronger than her. She'd have to focus on outmaneuvering him.

The problem was, there was little room to do that in the current situation. Even while recoiling, Shadow Saburo filled up so much of the alleyway that Yuina had no avenues of escape.

_... Hm. The alleyway... _

Yuina's strategizing was interrupted as she noticed Shadow Saburo recovering, quickly returning her mind to the present. His eyes both turned to face her with a squelching sound.  **_"Well! You've been..."_ ** He hissed distastefully.  **_"Practicing, haven't you?"_ **

"Something like that." Yuina decided not to mention she had only fought a single Shadow since their last meeting, instead pointing her bat threateningly. "You wanna back off, or do I have to kick your ass even harder?"

**_"I'm afraid not. Even if you're more experienced than I thought, the high ground is still mine!"_ ** Shadow Saburo gave another visceral cackle, his eyes narrowing. Yuina readied herself for another attack - only for both eyes to flash, sending a blinding light through the entire area. Pain erupted through Yuina's head as everything went white, and she instinctively brought her free hand to her forehead, trying to shake off the piercing headache.

That was nothing, however, compared to the vicious blow that impacted her side, sending her tumbling to the ground and forcing her to drop her bat. Yuina groaned, her vision gradually clearing - just in time to see Shadow Saburo place one foreleg on her bat and kick it underneath himself before her vision went out of focus again.

Shadow Saburo took a single step forward, gleefully looking her over.  **_"Are you done? Or do I have to web you up too?"_ **

"F... Fuck you," Yuina spat, barely managing to get to her feet. She unsteadily leaned back against the fence, bracing herself for Saburo to smack her around a little more. For now, he seemed content looking her over, clearly savoring her fear. She had to get out of here and at  _ least _ get her baseball bat back, but...

Her mind reflected on something he had said.  _ High ground. _

**_"Oh, Yuina... I tried to warn you, and yet you're still bringing all this torment upon yourself. How_** **pathetic!** ** _"_** Shadow Saburo took a few steps back, crouching down. He pounced forwards, mandibles opening wide...

... and was met by a fist punching straight in his throat. Yuina hurriedly yanked her arm away, shaking some of the Shadow slobber off as Saburo screeched in agony. Ignoring him for now, she whipped around and began to climb the fence, fighting with all her strength to maintain a grip. She didn't need to climb that high - just enough for the right jump.

After a second or two of climbing, she leaned to the side, keeping one arm firmly gripping the fence. She took just a second to estimate the distance before kicking off the fence, aiming for Shadow Saburo. Just as he began to recover, he was met with two boots stomping down onto his eyestalks with a  _ SNAP _ , followed by Yuina springing forwards with another sharp kick. The extra distance was just enough to send her over the arachnid Shadow, landing somewhat clumsily but enough that she remained standing. 

Taking a few stumbles forwards to regain her balance, she did her best to ignore Saburo's screams.  _ It's not actually hurting him, _ she told herself... or, maybe, pleaded. She bent down and picked up her fallen bat, turning back to face the Shadow. "Are you done?" she taunted. "Or do I have to smash your throat with the bat too?"

Shadow Saburo growled, facing her in turn. His eye stalks were limply hanging down over his face, but the eyes were tilted straight in her direction, involuntarily making her shudder a bit.  **_"I tried to save you, and THIS is the thanks I get?!"_ **

"First off, that wasn't  _ you. _ That was Saburo. Don't even fucking try that card." Yuina grit her teeth. "Second off, like I said, it's my decision. Not yours. Don't lord that shit over me."

**_"Even if you're tougher than I thought, you still barely know anything about how this place operates."_** Shadow Saburo's expression contorted into something that resembled a sneer, and he spread his mandibles wide. **_"I'll just have to teach you a lesson!"_**

Yuina grinned - she had him right where she wanted him. "Sorry, but I'm a terrible learner. Think I'll pass on that."

Then, she whirled around and sprinted away.

Yuina was already bracing herself for some sort of counterattack, though it wasn't quite what she expected. She made it halfway down the alleyway before something snagged onto her ankle and she tripped forwards, slamming down directly into the concrete facefirst. Ignoring the pain from the scrapes, she pressed her palm up against the ground, looking back towards what had caught her.

_ Oh. He's a spider. Right. _ She coughed, noticing the thin line of... well, it was  _ probably _ webbing attached to her leg, but given the slight red tint and fleshy texture, she didn't want to think about what else it could be. Shadow Saburo's abdomen pulsated as he maintained his grip on her, cackling once more.  **_"You're not going anywhere!"_ **

Yuina had to think fast; Shadow Saburo was closing in on her quickly. She hurriedly pressed on her wristwatch, an idea springing to her mind. Caulfield emerged above her, and she wordlessly pointed towards the Shadow dashing straight at her. "Help me out here!"

Caulfield got the message, and chucked another fireball straight at the webbing, burning it in an instant - and hitting Shadow Saburo in the face again. Yuina once again did her best to play off his pained screeching, ripping the webbing off her leg before closing the rest of the distance out of the alley. Dashing out of the confined space felt like a breath of fresh air to her, and she exhaled instinctively before stepping out further into the open street, whirling around so the Shadow didn't catch her by surprise.

"Ready to wrap this up, Caulfield?" she noted to her Persona, which had flown in behind her.

Caulfield nodded slightly.  _ "I'd say so. Let's teach this goddamn freak our own lesson." _

Right on cue, Shadow Saburo burst out of the alleyway, visibly panting. The repeated blows from both Yuina and her Persona were clearly starting to take their toll; while his movements were far more frenzied than before, they were noticeably slower and clumsier. And now that Yuina was in an open space, well... she knew she had the upper hand.

**_"You little brat...!"_ ** Shadow Saburo snarled, slamming one leg down into the sidewalk hard enough that it splintered.  **_"I... won't let you win!"_ **

Feeling a surge of confidence swell within her, an idea popped into Yuina's mind. She closed her fingers around her watch and tilted the ring outside, and Caulfield changed to Succubus in an instant, the demoness floating behind her lazily. "Maybe I just need to show you some new tricks."

At the Persona change, Saburo's droopy eyes widened in shock.  **_"You have multiple Personas?!"_ **

"... Yeah." Yuina was about to ask if that wasn't normal, but caught herself. Instead, she pointed her bat straight forwards, making sure not to get any closer. No sense in getting knocked back into the alley. "I've got  _ two _ to kick your ass with. So if you wanna get pummeled, by all means, keep going. I'm  _ going _ to make you get out of Saburo, no matter what."

Shadow Saburo's tired expression contorted into one of anger, his pupils dilating.  **_"... I'd like to see you try."_ **

He launched himself at Yuina, but she kicked herself back, speaking the first word that popped into her head. "Eiha!" Succubus smirked and snapped her fingers, launching a black-and-red bolt of dark energy straight at his face. The blast exploded against his fleshy skin, landing straight on one of his many scars. Shadow Saburo howled in agony, skittering back and falling onto the ground.

Yuina's eyes narrowed, and she made a mental note to blast him with as much of that as possible. She lunged in for a strike with her bat, but the Shadow's abdomen shuddered before shooting out a strand of web towards the nearest building. Yuina's strike slammed into the ground as Shadow Saburo yanked himself backwards, attaching himself to the building wall and hissing at her from above.

"Someone's a little scared now, aren't they?" Yuina grinned, attempting to goad Saburo into coming back down. "Aren't you Shadows supposed to keep us from running away from - whoa!"

She leapt back as Shadow Saburo spat out a white blob her way, barely managing to avoid it. She stared down at the strange sparkling substance where she had been, wincing as it bubbled and ate away at the concrete like acid. Already, she could see Saburo's mandibles frothing as he got ready to spit another one her way.

_ I've gotta get him down from there! _ Yuina dashed in, preemptively summoning Succubus and weaving left and right to throw off Saburo's aim. She jumped aside, narrowly dodging another white acid ball, before closing the distance. "Succubus, go for it!"

_ "I'll show this Shadow a good time." _ Succubus giggled, snapping her fingers and launching another Eiha blast that caught Shadow Saburo straight in the thorax, causing him to screech and wobble. He still maintained his grip on the building, but it was a lot shakier - and one more good blow would definitely get him to fall.

Yuina was ready to fire off another blast of darkness at him, but Shadow Saburo abruptly leapt off the building - straight towards her. With a shriek of surprise, Yuina fell to the ground, and Saburo landed straight on her, planting both forelegs on her chest and pinning her to the ground. Succubus disappeared in an instant.  **_"I don't think so!"_ **

He hissed, his mouth bubbling even more as he leaned in a little too close for comfort. Yuina could even feel some of the substance dripping down onto her neck, making it burn in pain - to top it all off, the rest of Saburo's legs pinned her arms to the ground, keeping her from reaching out to  **_"Before you die, I want you to savor the feeling of failure. Cause that's all you are!"_ **

Yuina grit her teeth, fighting through the pain as Shadow Saburo raised his foreleg - aimed straight towards her forehead. This couldn't be over. She had  _ promised _ she would make it back safely. For Saburo himself, for her parents...

... for Kanako.

With a yell of defiance, Yuina raised her wrist and slammed it onto the ground, managing to hit the button against the concrete. Shadow Saburo jolted in surprise as Succubus appeared directly above him, teasingly leaning forwards so that she was in between him and Yuina's faces.

Yuina glared straight towards her opponent. "Open wide, you son of a bitch!"

Succubus snapped her fingers one final time, and an Eiha blast snaked out from her fingers into Shadow Saburo's mouth, exploding straight into his throat. The sheer force was enough to get Shadow Saburo to back off, letting out vicious strands of screaming, whining, and braying. Yuina hurriedly pushed herself out from under him as his grip loosened, watching in awed horror as his flesh like body twisted and pulsated, shriveling up in seconds until it just disintegrated altogether, leaving a single figure inside, surrounded by formless Shadow goop.

"Saburo!" Yuina immediately fought through her utter exhaustion to get up and clumsily dash towards him, pulling him out from the remains of the Shadow with all her strength. The pain from the white stuff burning at her skin coupled with Shadow Saburo's legs digging into most of her body was enough for her to nearly topple over trying to get him out, but she managed to pull him just far enough before collapsing onto the concrete.

Saburo blinked, letting out an exhausted groan. Other than looking really tired, much to Yuina's relief, he  _ was _ okay, slowly getting out of his curled up position. He glanced at Yuina, his eyes narrowing. "You... you rescued me."

"... Yeah." Yuina exhaled sharply, rolling onto her back and staring at the motionless sky. "Almost... died, too. Hope you're grateful."

Saburo pursed his lips. "... I guess I should've known you weren't going to stay away. You gave me this, erm, stubborn streak of..." Upon catching Yuina weakly glaring at him, he coughed. "... completely righteous and justified independence. Yes."

Yuina stared at him for a moment longer before her expression softened. Much to her relief, the pain was fading away pretty quickly, enough that she was able to get to her knees. She looked over Saburo with... pity, almost. "Why were you lying about having a Persona?" She herself felt a little surprised at how the question left her mouth - not accusatory, nor cautious. Just... gentle.

Saburo frowned, glancing down to his lap. He took a deep breath before sighing solemnly. "... You wouldn't have listened to me if I told you the truth."

Yuina wanted to ask more, but the familiar pain returning to Saburo's expression caused her to stop in her tracks. Besides, he had a point. She bit her lip, taking a deep breath of her own to collect herself. "You know what, it doesn't matter. We shouldn't talk here." She glanced towards the various scrapes on her body, grunting. "Do the wounds go away when I get out of here at all? Cause otherwise, this is gonna be kinda hard to explain to my parents."

"They won't go away immediately, but since you have a Persona, they should heal quickly." Saburo seemed relieved at the subject change, his expression lightening up. "I can, erm. Still use the watch for transport, if..."

He trailed off. Yuina was about to prompt him to continue, only to see what had caught his attention. She instinctively grabbed onto her bat again as she saw Shadow Saburo, having reassembled himself from his earlier remains. Sure, he was in his human form, and he was sitting on the ground in a pitiful, obviously tired state, but that wasn't a comfort at all.

"... Get back." Ignoring the fatigue starting to creep into her limbs again, she took a few steps forwards, raising her bat.

"Wait!" Saburo's voice caused her to stop in her tracks. She glanced back to him questioningly, and he slowly stood up, dusting his coat off. "I'll... I'll handle this. Just stay back. Please."

Yuina was about to call him insane, but she couldn't bring herself to be that harsh on him, especially after what she had heard. She reluctantly lowered her bat and stepped back, allowing Shadow Saburo's real counterpart to step forth. He bent down to face his Shadow, eyes narrowed. "... You've done a lot of bad things, huh?"

**_"It was... it was to make you better..."_ ** Shadow Saburo's voice was barely above a raspy whisper.  **_"You can't stay with this burden for the rest of your life. You have to let go."_ **

"But if you take control of me, that doesn't really change things, does it? I still feel the pain. You're just making it look like I don't. And that's not a solution." Saburo took off his glasses, making eye contact with the hooded Shadow. "But... you're right. I do want to move past things. And I don't really feel like I can do that alone."

Shadow Saburo's yellow eyes widened a bit.  **_"Really?"_ **

"Yeah. If you really wanna help, then... how about we do this for real?" Saburo extended one hand in offering. "You and me, on a team. It'd be cool." He jerked his head towards Yuina. "She's already got, like, two."

Shadow Saburo brought one hand to his hood, taking it off and revealing... an actually normal face. He looked exactly like his real counterpart, only with the yellow eyes and no glasses. He smiled appreciatively, taking Saburo's hand and slowly pulling himself up.  **_"... Yeah. Let's do this."_ **

Yuina watched intently as Shadow Saburo's body gently glowed with blue light, shifting and changing form just like her own Persona's initial transformation. However, this one was noticeably more drastic, as she caught his entire body widening and turning into anything  _ but _ a humanoid. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment, letting Saburo have his moment.

When the light faded, his Shadow had taken a completely new form... at least, partially. It still looked humanoid, but only in its upper half; its arms were massive, with viciously sharp claws at the ends; and the body beyond the torso was composed of insect legs, just like the spider form. Yuina couldn't make out any more details due to the figure being covered entirely in bandages, like some kind of bug mummy - an apt comparison, as she spotted what looked like sarcophagus pieces scattered all around its body, like primitive armor. It would have been terrifying to behold, especially coupled with how huge it was...

... if Saburo didn't look absolutely starry-eyed at his new Persona, mouth agape. "... W- _ Whoa. _ "

_ "I am thou... thou art I." _ The figure bowed its bandaged head politely.  _ "I am Tristram. We shall mend our wounds... together." _

Tristram raised its head before dissolving into a small cluster of blew light, which flew to Saburo's arm - the one without a watch on. He stumbled back in surprise as the light swirled around his wrist, quickly forming into a new watch; this one was brown, with various swirling patterns on it that reminded Yuina of galaxies.

He slowly turned to Yuina, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. "So, uh. I guess I've got a Persona now. So it... kinda worked out in the end."

Yuina crossed her arms, smirking. "Man, that's not fair. Tristram looks so much cooler than Caulfield."

The two both chuckled. As much as Yuina wanted to continue chatting with Saburo, she knew this wasn't the right place... or time, technically. "How about we get out of here? I'm, uh..." She stared at Saburo for a second, realizing that they wouldn't be anywhere near each other. "I'm gonna pop out at Toujou Park. You know where that is?"

Saburo nodded, his brow furrowing. "I'm not that far, actually. I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

"Great. I'll, uh... I'll get you to my house. I can use the excuse that we were playing baseball or something." Yuina chuckled softly, before holding down the button on her watch. Saburo did so as well, and the two vanished from the Ticking Hell, leaving it barren and lifeless once again.


	11. Saving Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, Chapter 11! A lot more slower paced this time around, with some development of our two starting characters, and the formation of our first Social Link. I hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 5th _

_ Afternoon _

Yuina was grateful she was quick on her feet, because otherwise she had no idea how she was going to explain what had happened to her parents. She approached her house confidently, her cover story already in mind as she opened the door. "Hey, Mom, Dad. I'm back. Brought a friend."

Her mom didn't seem to be anywhere in sight, but her dad was sitting at the couch. Rokuro glanced over to Saburo as he came in, raising an eyebrow. "A friend, huh?"

"Well, we did just meet, but." Saburo coughed into his sleeve awkwardly. "Yes. It's good to meet you, erm, Mr. Hisakawa. I hope I'm not intruding or anything."

Rokuro blinked in obvious surprise before shaking his head. "No, no. You're fine." He glanced to Yuina with an approving smirk before turning his attention back to Saburo. "Rokuro is fine. And you are...?"

"Saburo. Saburo Sasaki." Saburo adjusted his glasses somewhat nervously. "It's good to meet you, Mr. Rokuro."

Rokuro chuckled, looking back to his daughter. "Did you two meet at school or something?"

"Actually, I'm homeschooled," Saburo mumbled softly. "We just met at - "

Yuina cut in quickly, raising one hand. "We just stumbled across each other while I was out at the park. Turns out he's pretty good at baseball, so we played around for a bit. I thought I'd bring him over to say hi." She gestured up to her room. "Mind if I show you my room?"

Much to her relief, Saburo caught on and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, of course!"

Rokuro nodded, flipping back to the television. "Well, I'll be sure Hitomi leaves you two alone. Believe me, Saburo, if she finds out you're here she's going to want to drown you in baked goods. And probably fatten you up."

Both Yuina and Saburo laughed as they made their way upstairs, Yuina shutting the door behind her as soon as they came in. Their laughter settled down, and Saburo pouted, glancing over his shoulder. "I dunno why your dad would wanna protect me from baked goods. I could really go for some banana bread right now. Or brownies.  _ Love _ those."

Yuina was half tempted to just ignore those comments, but her good mood won out, and she plopped down on her bed lazily, sliding her legs up so her knees were pointed high. "Tell you what, if you ever come to my house again, I'll make sure my mom's got something ready."

"Deal." Saburo grinned, though his gleeful expression faded quickly. He nervously looked around the room before awkwardly gesturing to the bed. "Uh, is it - is it okay if I - "

Yuina incredulously looked up at him. "Dude, I'm not one of those kinda girls. Just sit."

With visible reluctance, Saburo carefully maneuvered inside and gingerly sat next to the pillows on Yuina's bed. "Sorry. Just... never actually been in someone else's room before. Seemed a bit impolite to just, well, go at it." He looked down at her with an awkward smile. "Uh... your room is nice! Definitely a lot better than my room. Big space."

Yuina snorted in amusement. Now that it seemed like the both of them were settled, she carefully sat up, instinctively hugging her knees close to her chest. "... So, uh. What was all that stuff about?"

Saburo exhaled, immediately breaking eye contact with Yuina. She winced, realizing how bluntly that had come out, and shook her head. "You, uh. You don't gotta tell me if you don't want to - "

"No, it's fine. I... I haven't actually told anyone the truth of what happened... mostly because there was no one to tell. It'll be good to, well, get it off my chest." Saburo fidgeted slightly in his seat, clearly attempting to calm himself. His fists clenched, before gradually releasing. "... You already know I lost someone, and that's how I got this watch."

He held up the arm with the spare watch. "That someone was..." He choked briefly. "... w-was my sister. I was just at home one day, without a care in the world, and all of a sudden she bursts into the room. Bullet wounds all over her body, barely able to walk. I was shocked, and appalled... but I couldn't do anything as she told me what had happened, and then just. Slumped over. My mother thinks she just ran into some maniac and couldn't get medical attention in time, but... I know the truth. I've known the truth for a while."

Yuina looked down at her lap, unsure how to react to this news. She hadn't gone through anything nearly this bad, but... she didn't want to just stay silent. "... I'm sorry," she muttered weakly. "I can't imagine what you've gone through."

God, she was pathetic.  _ That _ was what she had to say? What other cliched bullshit could she spout? "It gets better with time"? "She's in a better place now"? She could barely believe her - 

"... Thank you." Saburo turned his attention back to her. "It means a lot."

Yuina blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"I've heard that a lot from friends of the family and all that, but... they weren't really people I knew, and they didn't understand what had happened. You..." Saburo hesitated only briefly before awkwardly scooting closer. "Even after I told you not to go back, you went in. And when you saw me in trouble when you could have just gone out, you saved me anyway. There was no reason for you to, you just  _ did. _ No one was watching, no one would've known... but you still did it, even when you were about to die. And now you're sitting here, hearing me out."

Yuina wasn't sure how to react to that. That was so far from the response she had expected that she barely managed to stammer out a "Y-You're welcome," feeling immense confusion overshadowing her other thoughts.

She shook her head, managing to get her brain to stop racing a million miles an hour. It all made sense now; no wonder Saburo had been so serious about making her stay back. However, one thing still didn't add up. She pursed her lips uncomfortably. "See, I get everything you've said, but... why the hell are you still fighting Shadows? I... Most people I know probably wouldn't want anything to do with 'em after something like that."

Saburo shifted slightly. "Well, it's just... you know." He coughed into his sleeve.

Yuina stared at him blankly. "... No. I don't know."

"Okay, look, it's... actually kind of fun, alright?" Saburo brought one hand to his forehead, hiding his face. "I've been in the Ticking Hell for a while, and I know the ins and outs of how it works, how to fight Shadows... all that. Maybe it's just some kinda catharsis after what I've been through, but..." He raised one fist, clenching it in a semi-excited gesture. "Fighting Shadows just makes me feel  _ alive. _ Outmaneuvering strange, powerful creatures and stopping them from messing up others... it's like nothing I've felt."

Now  _ that _ was something Yuina could relate to. With a grin, she cracked her knuckles. "Well... you don't gotta do it alone anymore."

"Still gonna keep going, huh?" Saburo didn't exactly sound surprised, but he still glanced her way with a raised eyebrow. "Even after you almost got eaten alive by a flesh spider?"

"Well, hey, with someone around who knows more than me, that's probably less likely to happen, right?" Yuina pointed out, stretching her arms up high. "I dunno, I just think it'd be good to work as a team. We've both got Personas, and we both wanna keep fighting Shadows. You've got the knowledge part down, and I have a bunch of Personas I can beat people up with. We could call ourselves..."

She snapped her fingers. What was a dorky name that he'd probably like and she could say without wanting to vomit? "... The Timekeepers."

Now it was Saburo's turn to stare at her like she had said something incredibly stupid.  _ Maybe TOO dorky. _ Yuina pursed her lips as he began to speak. "Yuina, that's..."

His eyes lit up. "Brilliant! The Timekeepers. Rolls off the tongue nicely, pun-tastic... how did I not think of that? You're a genius!"

"... Uh huh." Yuina tried to contain her laughter, reaching out for a handshake. "Shake on it?"

Saburo clasped her hand firmly, the two turning towards each other. Even though she didn't know Saburo that well, already, Yuina felt those warm sensations in her chest from whenever she and Kanako were just... spending time together. Maybe not quite as much, but it still felt nice to just have someone she could call, well... a teammate. Maybe even a friend.

_ Hey, maybe I can tell Kanako I made another friend. _ With a slight chuckle to herself, she made eye contact with Saburo.

"To the Timekeepers," the two agreed, shaking each others' hands.

_ I am thou... thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond... _

_ You will inspire change within each other... _

_ Thou shalt be blessed when making Personas of the Fool Arcana... _

**~~ RANK UP! - FOOL ARCANA: THE TIMEKEEPERS ~~**

Yuina gently pulled her arm away, stuffing it in her pocket. She was about to say more to Saburo, but a knocking at her door drew her attention. "Hey, Yuina? I heard you had a friend over?"

Uh oh. Yuina was about to tell her mom not to come in, but too late - the door swung open, and Hitomi stepped inside, peeking at Saburo. "I made brownies for the both of you!"

Saburo shot up in an instant, his eyes twinkling. "Brownies?!"

Well, too late now... and even if this was just her mom being, well, her mom, Yuina couldn't really say no. "You're gonna love them. Mom's brownies are kicka..." She barely caught herself, self-consciously looking towards Hitomi before slowly correcting herself. "... they're, uh, really good - "

"They're kickass." Hitomi smiled slyly, crossing her arms.

Okay, that did it. Yuina smiled wide, hopping off her bed. "C'mon, Saburo. Let's get some chocolatey goodness. Just, y'know, don't think you have to eat everything cause Mom wants you to put on a few pounds."

"I, erm, think I'll stay skinny." Saburo folded his hands behind his back, following the two women downstairs.


	12. An Ocean In A Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - here's the next chapter, another Velvet Room one! Those are always fun, and I think the good old Velvet Robot needs more screentime~ Chapter 14 is when plot kicks in again, so please enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 6th _

_ After School _

Yuina never thought she'd be walking home from school with a spring in her step, and yet here she was, even humming a little tune to herself as she made her way down the street. Maybe she was just coming off the high of beating a tough Shadow and making a new friend, but... she could officially say she had a  _ good _ day at school. Nobody brought up her little Countdown episode (at least, around her), she had actually gotten proper class participation marks for once, she and Kanako had fun talking about the Persona stuff at lunch...

Well, mostly fun on Yuina's part. Kanako was worried as always, but she wasn't babying her, so it wasn't a big deal. Still, everything just felt... good, for once. Maybe she'd actually get started on her homework early for once.

That thought quickly left Yuina's mind as she stepped onto the porch of her house, ready to open the door - only to notice a package sitting right in front, along with a sticky note. Raising an eyebrow, she bent down to one knee, reading the note curiously.

_ Hey, Yuina! Welcome back! _

_ Before you rest up and get some food, would you mind dropping this off at the post office? I'd ask your father to do it, but he's at work - and I probably will be too when you're reading this. Thank you! _

_ Love, Mom _

Yuina cracked a smirk, unlocking her door and setting her backpack down inside. After shutting the door, she picked up the package, taking the sticky note off it and stuffing it in her pocket. She lifted up the little box with both hands, grunting for just a second before spinning around on her heel and making her way further down the street. Luckily, the post office was only a block or two away, so this wouldn't take too much of her time.

And it didn't; she broke into a jog, passing one or two more houses before seeing it in the distance. Yuina came to a stop in front, opening up a little package deposit slot on the front and sliding the box inside. Satisfied, she closed the compartment, turning to leave...

... Eh? What was that out of the corner of her eye? A light blue glow caught her attention, and she curiously turned her head. Carefully taking a few steps towards the corner of the post office, she peeked around - only to see a bright blue electronic door with some kind of scanner above the knob. The door wasn't attached to anything at all; it was just... floating there.

_ This seems familiar... _ Feeling some deja vu in her gut, Yuina took a few cautious steps towards the door. Feeling a strange sensation come over her, she gently tilted her wrist towards the scanner, her watch face out, and passed it through.

The light above the scanner turned from red to green, and a  _ click! _ resounded through the area. Yuina cautiously looked over her shoulder, making sure nobody was around, before delicately opening the door, bracing herself for whatever she might see on the other side...

_??? _

_??? _

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room." _

Yuina's vision gradually cleared, the whitish-blue light fading away within a few seconds. She blinked dumbfoundedly, at first confused at the massive city, man, and robot before her, before the memories came rushing back in an instant. She fumbled around for the door behind her, hastily closing it. "... Uhh."

"We've been expecting you,"  Adam greeted, the liquid in his face sloshing around. He glanced to the side and mumbled, " Assuming you didn't die, of course. "

Yuina would have been annoyed at that comment, but any hint of that was buried underneath awe. "... So you guys are real too. I thought it was  _ just _ some kinda weird dream, but... there really is a Velvet Room, huh?"

Igor's grin was as wide as ever. "Yes. This must all seem like a dream to you... but I can assure you, guest, that we are very much real."

Thankfully, it wasn't like Yuina had much trouble believing it. After fighting a not-dog and a flesh spider with the metal baseball pitcher inside her head, nothing really seemed that out of the ordinary anymore. Hell, these guys could probably tell her the Earth was secretly flat and she'd probably believe it...

... okay, maybe things weren't  _ that _ crazy. "Right, so..." Yuina had many, many questions, but... she decided to start simple. "Am I the only one who can come in here? Or is Saburo a guest too? Cause I feel like he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut if you guys were in contact with him."

"Correct. " Adam nodded slightly, folding his robotic arms over each other. " You are our only guest... at the moment. We have served others before, but... nobody quite like you. "

Once again, Yuina was about to take offense to that, cause it sure didn't  _ sound _ like Adam meant that in a positive way, but her mind flashed to something that had happened during her fight with Shadow Saburo. The dots connected in her head, and she carefully asked, "By chance, uh... do you guys serve people who can use multiple Personas?"

The gold flecks in Adam's watery face swished to form an exclamation point, and he glanced towards Igor. His master let out another one of those enigmatic chuckles that tended to either reassure Yuina or make her want to punch him, and in this case it was... kinda both. Thankfully, he was quick to explain, "An admirable deduction. Yes, we serve those with the power of the Wild Card, like yourself. You hold the power of the Fool arcana. It is much like the number zero - empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself."

For once, Yuina decided not to question his comparison. She got the point, and... well, it was a little sad that Saburo didn't have this kinda power. But hey, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Where do you guys come in?"

Adam nervously tapped his hands together. " Our job is to assist you in learning how to properly use your powers. Upon defeat of certain lesser Shadows... their souls will be opened to you. You can inspire change within them... and they will join your side, able to fight alongside you. "

Igor nodded in agreement. "I possess the power to manipulate your Personas... to be specific, I can mix them together and transform them anew. A fusion, if you will. However, you will only gain the true power of fusion through increasing your bonds with other people... otherwise known as Social Links."

Yuina understood the gist of what he was saying, but it was that last part that got her to raise an eyebrow. "Whoa, hold on. So you're telling me I need to go make bonds with other people so my fusions are better? So my Personas are  _ literally _ fueled through the fucking power of friendship?" Ugh. This was going to make things so much more complicated...

... well, was it? She already had a new friend in Saburo, and that other girl she had chatted with (Fuyuko?) seemed... very, very okay with her presence. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She'd just have to be herself and try not to force anything. Considering she had made friends with Saburo through incidentally saving his life, she probably wouldn't need to actively look around for friends to make... at least, she hoped.

"All right. Okay. I guess I get why you guys couldn't really explain this stuff to me before, so you're off the hook for that." Yuina straightened, looking over her shoulder. "... One last thing I wanted to know about."

She stared Igor dead in the eyes. "If I'm right on this, Shadows possess people who succumb to Countdown. Is there  _ any _ way to get them back after 24 hours? Or is it game over?"

Both of the Velvet Room inhabitants looked at each other briefly - already a bad sign - before turning back to Yuina. Adam was the only one to speak, making a metallic coughing sound. " That's probably something you don't want to find out. But if it happens... then it'll be up to you to find a solution. "

Great. They might as well have told her "I don't know" and it would've helped just about as much. Still, it wasn't like Yuina wanted to get to that point anyway, so... she wasn't too miffed. "Well, uh. Thanks for the service, guys. I guess, uh... could we try this out?" She held out her watch. "I don't wanna actually do any fusion stuff, cause I like Caulfield, but... maybe show me how you'd do it?"

Adam's expression shifted into a frown. " Ah... that one cannot participate in fusion. " He pointed towards Caulfield.

Yuina blinked. "... Why not?"

"It is a... special Persona, born from your heart. Mind that this is the exception, and not the rule - any other Persona you bring to us will suffice." Despite his solemn tone and words, Igor's grin didn't even twitch. "Next time, I'm certain we will be able to demonstrate."

Yuina glanced back to Caulfield, pursing her lips uncertainly. For the first time, she got the feeling her main Persona was a little more than just something to fight Shadows with. She shook it off pretty quickly, turning around and closing one hand around the doorknob behind her. "Guess I'll see you then, guys. Stay cool."

"Farewell." Igor waved as Yuina departed from the Velvet Room, quietly shutting the door behind her.


	13. Best Served Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! First REAL Social Link chapter! The next chapter is where the plot starts kicking in again, so look forward to that! In the meantime, enjoy a dork being a dork~  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 9th _

_ After School _

Seeing someone Yuina initially didn't recognize leaning against the outside of her house wasn't exactly the most comforting sight.

She caught sight of them almost immediately as her home came into view - it definitely wasn't her mom or dad. Her eyes narrowed, and she picked up the pace rather quickly - only to stop once more of their features came into view. Okay, the coat and glasses made it really obvious it was Saburo. With a sigh of relief, she approached him, ignoring the door for now. 

Still, she wasn't exactly pleased by his positioning. She didn't return his wave, crossing her arms as she stopped in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"We're a team, aren't we?" Saburo raised an eyebrow, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I didn't know where else to meet you."

"No, like. Why outside the house?" Yuina gestured with both hands to her home. "You look like some kinda..."

She trailed off. On second thought, maybe calling Saburo a stalker when he was just trying to meet up with her wasn't the best idea. She shook her head, grabbing her backpack off her shoulders. "Never mind. Forget it. I guess we didn't really come up with any way to keep in touch..." That day had been so hectic that the idea of exchanging phone numbers or something like that had slipped her mind.

Saburo rubbed his chin, taking out a brown phone from his pocket. "Do you have Chaos, by chance?"

Yuina's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's perfect. Here, lemme add you." She brought out her own phone, exchanging contact information with Saburo... only to stop and raise an eyebrow as she registered his username. She read it one more time to make sure she wasn't seeing things, blinking a few times.

Then, she looked back up at him. "... Is your username seriously  _ time-crasher? _ "

"Hey, when your username is two puns in one, of course mine's going to look lame by comparison!" Saburo raised both his hands defensively.

Yuina shook her head, chuckling as she made sure Saburo was on her friends list. Great, now she had two people on there! She put her phone back in her pocket, folding her hands behind her back. "So what did you wanna meet about? Didja find someone else with a major strain of Countdown?"

Saburo's grin wavered, and he scratched his head. "... No, but it  _ is _ related to the Ticking Hell. Think we could take this somewhere else? I could visit your house again, if you want..."

Yuina pondered for a moment, scuffing one of her boots across the ground. "Eh, I don't really have any good excuse to hang out with you when I've got schoolwork to do. My parents would definitely get on my case for that. The only reason they'd let me leave the house is if I was working with someone on..."

She trailed off, before snapping her fingers, looking up at her friend. "... Mind if we head to your house?"

"Wait. Mine?" Saburo blinked, bringing a hand to his chest. "U-Uh, sure. It's kind of messy, but it's probably a good place. Didn't I tell your parents I was homeschooled, though?"

"They're not gonna know I'm meeting with you specifically." Yuina shrugged. "I have another friend who'd totally cover for me. Here, I'll text her right now." She took out her phone again, opening up Kanako's direct message log.

[4/9 3:40 PM] ThirdBass: hey kanako, i'm gonna be meeting with that other persona user

[4/9 3:41 PM] gentlegarden: Oh, cool! Hope you have fun!

[4/9 3:42 PM] ThirdBass: we'll see :P mind covering for me if my parents ask where i am? saburo's homeschooled so i can't really use him as an excuse

[4/9 3:43 PM] gentlegarden: Sneaky! Yeah, I'll cover for you.

[4/9 3:44 PM] ThirdBass: you're the best, seriously

Yuina put her phone back again, only to hesitate as she realized Saburo had been reading the entire conversation. She turned around and stared at him, planting one hand on his chest and gently pushing it back. "Dude, do you have any idea how rude it is to read other people's conversations?"

"Sorry, I, erm. Couldn't help myself. Curiosity and all that." Saburo's cheeks flushed, though he shook his head. "Hey, wait, did you tell her about Personas and Shadows?"

Nope. Yuina was killing this line of conversation before it even began. "Yeah, I did. She was the only person I could really tell after I awakened to Caulfield. In fact, she's the one who encouraged me to save your ass." She crossed her arms. "I'm not gonna tell anyone else, and I know her well enough that she wouldn't either. So if you're gonna give me some bullshit about having to keep it a secret, don't even try."

That shut Saburo up quick. Yuina actually felt a little bad at seeing him shrink back, and she sighed, looking away. "... Sorry. Didn't mean to be that harsh."

"No, it's... fine. If you really think she won't spread this information around or do anything reckless, then..." Saburo swallowed, before giving her a sincere smile. "I trust you. And, well, having someone else to bounce off at some point might not be all that bad. You'd be surprised how helpful normal people can be in these supernatural events."

_ What's that supposed to mean? _ Yuina decided not to comment, gesturing with one hand. "Well, it's your house. Lead the way."

Saburo looked around before jumping. "Oh, right, me! Yeah, it's... actually just a few blocks down the street. One of the smaller houses around town, so it's pretty hard to miss." He spun around and began making his way down the street. Yuina idly set her bag on the porch, sliding it out of view before following behind him.

Much to her relief, Saburo wasn't kidding when he said his house was close by... and small, for that matter. As the two rounded a street corner, Yuina immediately noticed a blue one-story house that... didn't look quite right compared to the two-story houses it was sandwiched in between. In fact, the roof was barely taller than Saburo - Yuina wouldn't be surprised if it didn't make it past seven feet tall.

Still, despite being tiny, the house itself  _ did _ look pretty nice - the paint job seemed relatively new, with barely any blemishes, and the door had a silly wooden sign hanging over it labeled "Welcome Home!" and a brown welcome mat. It was just enough to stop Yuina from feeling unnerved, though she still remained behind Saburo.

"Your house." She pointed forwards. "I don't wanna, like, surprise your dad or anything."

"Ah, well, my dad, erm." Saburo coughed awkwardly. "Split from my mom after what happened to..."

He trailed off, but that still felt like a punch in the gut to Yuina. Unsure what to say, she awkwardly stepped backwards a little further, unable to look at Saburo as he approached the door and knocked politely. It swung open rather quickly, revealing a middle-aged, somewhat plump woman with glasses... that were, amusingly, nearly identical to her son's.

"Hello, Mother! I brought a friend." Saburo jerked his head towards Yuina, thankfully not seeming too bothered by her lack of tact. "We're just going to be talking about some stuff."

"Uh, hey..." Yuina waved, hesitating only briefly. "... Ms. Sasaki...?"

Ms. Sasaki's eyes went wide upon seeing Yuina. "Oh, my!" She hobbled over, and before Yuina could panic and run past her or away from the house, she leaned forwards and pinched her cheek tightly. "You look positively lovely, Yuina! I didn't know Saburo made a  _ friend! _ I hope you're helping to keep my boy in line?"

Yuina was trying her hardest not to pull away, involuntarily letting out a gasp of relief as Ms. Sasaki let go. She rubbed her cheek uncomfortably, scowling for just a second before forcing a smile onto her face. "... Something like that. Uh, Saburo, can we go talk? In your room?"

"I'll be sure to make you both some cookies!" Ms. Sasaki chirped, already stepping towards Yuina again - presumably to go for her other cheek.

Saburo gave her an apologetic look before dashing inside the house, and Yuina wasted no time in following him into a cramped hallway, narrowly avoiding getting another pinch. She took long strides inside, keeping as close to Saburo and as far away from the woman behind her as possible. Saburo flung open a door to his left and gestured inside, and Yuina hurriedly ducked into what she assumed was his room, sighing in relief as he stepped in and shut the door, locking it.

"... Your mom seems, uh... nice...?" Yuina wasn't even sure if she was lying or not.

"She only knows how to bake cookies. Don't take them unless you're confident you won't get sick of them," Saburo warned. He and Yuina straightened their posture at the same time, and Saburo gestured around him. "Anyway! This is my room. Nice place, I think. Not anything A-class, or... I dunno, I'd give it a B. Maybe a B minus."

Just from one glance, Yuina got the feeling it was a very Saburo room. From the poster of a starship flying through space above his bed, to the small row of action figures on his dresser, everything about this room screamed "nerd". She was almost tempted to tease him over it, but managed to restrain herself, instead casually plopping down on the bed. 

"So, uh... I probably shouldn't be gone too long. Not sure how much Kanako can cover for me. What did you wanna talk about?" She rolled her shoulders leisurely, sighing.

Saburo didn't seem bothered by Yuina having a seat uninvited, instead turning around to face his closet. He folded his hands behind his back. "Well... now that I have someone with me, and we both actually have Personas, I've been thinking. The whole reason I wanted to fight Shadows in my sister's place was to help people... and, well, I've been doing that, kind of. I haven't actually fought any Countdown victims, admittedly."

"Can't blame you for that. Without a Persona, you'd probably get your ass handed to you." Yuina shrugged nonchalantly. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well... the Shadow that, erm." Saburo exhaled in anticipation. "... The Shadow that killed my sister, well... it's still out there, somewhere. I only caught a glimpse of it when she was coming back, but... I know what it is. I couldn't tell you what it looked like, but... I know how it  _ felt _ , and if we met it again, then I'd know what it was. And I'm willing to bet it's still out there, somewhere."

The dots connected in Yuina's head, and she cocked her head to one side. "So, you want revenge?"

Saburo turned towards her in surprise. "That's not - I don't - " He trailed off, before sighing, slumping down. "... Okay, well. I guess it is, but I didn't want you to just come out and  _ say _ it."

"What's wrong with revenge?" Yuina raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I get it's not the happiest-sounding thing, and you don't really seem like the violent type. But it's healthy. Pretty much how I got through life without going crazy." She cracked her knuckles. "Someone messing with me? Fuck 'em up."

"That doesn't seem, erm." Saburo trailed off, before quietly adding, "Healthy."

Yuina sighed in annoyance. Was he really going to play that card? Especially when he just admitted to wanting it? "Look, do you want my help or not?"

"Oh, no, I definitely want your help, but - " Saburo blinked in surprise. "Wait, you'll help?"

"Hell yeah." Yuina grinned, rolling her neck to one side. "I mean, we'll be fighting Shadows anyway, right? Might as well knock the one that killed your sister off the list. I know if someone hurt one of my friends, well... I'd probably go strangle them. Only feels right that you get some support, especially since we're a team."

Saburo seemed tongue-tied, sputtering incoherently for a few seconds before smacking his lips together. "Well! That was easier than I thought it'd be."

"Honestly, I'm not sure why you thought I'd say no." Yuina smirked, straightening her back a bit. "So when are we fighting this Shadow? I'm guessing we'll have to find it first?"

"Probably. I'd like to wait a bit before we do any of that. If the Shadow beat my sister, then it was definitely strong - she had that watch for a while, from what I can remember. It'd be worth training up a little before we make our move." Saburo smiled, adjusting his glasses. "... Thanks for the help, Yuina. This means a lot to me."

"Not a problem. Teammates should stick together, right?" Bonding over revenge and a shared desire to fight? Maybe this Social Links thing would be easier than she thought. Yuina sighed in contentment, looking up towards the ceiling.

_ I am thou... thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond... _

_ You will inspire change within each other... _

_ Thou shalt be blessed when making Personas of the Star Arcana... _

**~~ RANK UP! - STAR ARCANA: SABURO SASAKI ~~**

Yuina stayed seated for a moment longer before hopping off the bed. "Well, guess I'll get going, then. I, uh..." She nervously looked over her shoulder, then at Saburo's door.

Saburo raised an eyebrow, leaning in close. "What is it?"

  
"... Can I, uh, climb out your window or something?" Yuina kept her voice low, shifting uncomfortably. "I'd love to stay for cookies, but. Your mom kinda scares me."

Saburo stared for a second before bursting into a giggle fit, covering his mouth. "Seriously?"

"Look, those kinda ridiculous doting moms are my, like, anti-thing. Okay? Just gimme a back door and I'll be out of your hair, honest." Yuina raised both hands, before her eyes narrowed. "And, uh... it's not like you know anyone else, but don't tell anyone, otherwise they're probably gonna try to use that against me."

  
"You must know some aggressive people." Saburo's chuckling trailed off as he opened the door. "Here, I'll lead you to the back."


	14. The Next Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - sorry for missing a chapter last Wednesday; I mentioned it in my Discord but I didn't mention it here, whoops!  
> But, uh, important: the next arc begins, and a dungeon chapter is to follow! I enjoyed this one far more than any in Sougawa - I think I've worked out a good way to write them in an enjoyable manner that should ALSO make it more enjoyable for you to read! You'll see what it is. ;D  
> Please enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 10th _

_ After School _

While school was way more tolerable nowadays thanks to Yuina not feeling extremely bored 24/7, it still wasn't really where she wanted to be. There was a whole new world awaiting, just at her fingertips - heck, if she really wanted, she could probably just activate her watch while in the bathroom, fight some Shadows, and head back like nothing had happened. It'd be a good way to break up the monotony of some of her more boring classes.

As much as she wanted to do that, though, she knew Kanako would never let her hear the end of it. Thankfully, enduring the school day wasn't really that bad, and she had made it out okay. She idly opened up Chaos on her phone, leisurely leaning back against her desk as most students began to file out. Might as well check on Saburo, since he was online.

[4/10 3:31 PM] ThirdBass: school was boring as shit, how's your day been

[4/10 3:33 PM] time-crasher: It's been alright

[4/10 3:34 PM] time-crasher: Read up on advanced algebra today

[4/10 3:35 PM] ThirdBass: ew, math

[4/10 3:36 PM] time-crasher: I like math though

[4/10 3:36 PM] ThirdBass: you're such a nerd, it's great

[4/10 3:37 PM] ThirdBass: i gotta get home, i'll text you if anything comes up w/shadow business

[4/10 3:38 PM] time-crasher: Sounds good

Yuina put her phone in her pocket, sighing. Kanako was busy for the afternoon, so she probably had to actually work on homework or something. She grabbed her backpack and baseball bat from under her desk, slinging it over her shoulder - 

_ CRASH! _

The sudden noise caused Yuina to jolt and instinctively raise her bat, whipping towards the sound to see... a very strange scene. Only two people were still in the classroom, both of them near the exit amongst a pile of school supplies messily strewn out all across the floor. Given how there were still some on the nearest desk, that at least gave Yuina a good idea of where the crashing sound had come from.

But that was nothing compared to the position the two people were in. The one who had fallen was a  _ huge _ girl - taller than anyone Yuina knew. Despite being so huge, everything about her seemed... soft, from her fuzzy blue wool sweater, to her shoulder-length chocolate brown hair, to her soft blue eyes that were... tearing up? The rest of her outfit was casual, with simple gray jeans and black sneakers, but she seemed irrationally upset.

What  _ really _ caught Yuina's attention, however, was the guy holding her. He was a lot shorter than the woman he was holding, though still taller than Yuina; his outfit was primarily composed of dark colors, with a black fedora and waistcoat, a gray shirt, blue jeans, and red high tops. His dark red eyes glinted as he looked down at the girl, whistling. "Almost got a trip to the nurse's office there!"

"I must look like an idiot, huh..." The girl murmured, wiping the tears away from her eyes with a blush.

The whole exchange was sappy enough that Yuina could only stare for a moment. Then, the dots clicked in her head - she recognized that guy. With an annoyed grunt, she approached the two, stopping a short distance away. "Hey, you guys mind flirting somewhere else?"

"Hey, what was I supposed to do, let her fall?" The man helped the woman steady herself before stepping aside. He looked over Yuina for a moment before pursing his lips. "Hey, wait... you're that person who passed out in class. Yuina, right?"

"Bring that up again and I'll bash your face." Yuina immediately felt her annoyance flare up, scuffing her bat against the ground to emphasize her point. "... And you're Shouhei Hayato."

  
Shouhei smirked, tipping his hat politely. "At your service."

Yuina looked to the girl, who backed away nervously - which was funny because she was almost a foot taller than Yuina. She sighed, setting down her bat. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. I know you've probably heard I don't take shit from anybody, but I'm not the kinda person to kick people while they're down, okay?" She crossed her arms. "What's your name?"

"... Haruna Saito." The girl seemed slightly relieved, no longer shrinking away from Yuina. "I'm, um. A third-year here, and so is Shouhei. If you need any help..."

"I don't need - " Yuina cut herself off, seeing Haruna's eyes looking one second away from tearing up again if she said the wrong thing. God damnit. She grit her teeth, before speaking slowly, "I'll... keep that in mind. Thanks."

Shouhei seemed delighted, clapping his hands. "Hey, nice! You're already way more open than that second-year we tried talking to earlier. Delighted to meet you, Yuina. And, uh... sorry about bringing that thing up. It was just the first thing I thought of." He shrugged. "If you're a baseball person, you could join the school team, maybe? That'd get any weird events right off you. You'd probably get a bunch of guys on you, too."

Yuina shrugged. "I'm not much of a team player, and honestly, that last part sounds more like  _ dis _ couragement." She raised an eyebrow skeptically, putting her hands on her hips.

"Staying available? I getcha." Shouhei was completely unfazed by how easily she rebuked his flirtatious comments, glancing over to Haruna. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah. Just... when you brought up Fuyuko, I dunno." Haruna looked over her shoulder. "I hope she's alright..."

That name caught Yuina's attention. "Wait,  _ Fuyuko _ is the second year you're talking about?"

"Mhm. We're normally on good terms, but she's been a lot more closed off ever since this morning." Shouhei's relaxed smile changed into a frown at the drop of a hat. "She's been avoiding us, hasn't really talked to us... and it only started today, too. She was perfectly fine the last two days."

Haruna nodded softly, looking away. "She mentioned she was talking to some Viperess person online a few days ago, and I've heard shady rumors on them, but... she didn't really seem bothered then. So I dunno if that has anything to do with it now."

Yuina blinked, not really registering Haruna's statements. She only started acting weird today with no warning... that was a bad sign. Maybe she had a lead for Saburo after all.

But first, she had to confirm it. She adjusted her backpack again, scowling. "... Where is she?"

"... Well, last I checked, she was at her locker. It's down the hall and to the right." Shouhei raised an eyebrow. "If you're gonna try to talk to her, then good luck. We've been friends with her for a bit and we couldn't drag anything out of her."

Yuina decided to ignore that remark, marching right past them despite Haruna's protests. Maybe she was completely off the mark, in which case she'd continue on with her day. But if there was the chance that Fuyuko had Countdown, she couldn't leave it alone. Following Shouhei's instructions, she picked up her pace, practically jogging down the halls.

Much to her relief, as she turned right, she spotted Fuyuko standing in front of a nearby locker, leaning forwards. Yuina approached immediately, raising one hand cautiously. "... Hey."

Silence.

Yuina swallowed, pursing her lips. "... Look, I heard you've been going through some rough stuff." Ugh, did she have to try to talk sense into her? Great. Nonetheless, she exhaled sharply. "I know we don't know each other super well, but... I think I've got an idea of what you're going through. And if I'm right, I might be able to help ya. I know it sounds dumb, but... trust me. I'll explain, uh, later."

More silence.

Yuina crossed her arms. "... Are you seriously giving me the silent treat...ment..." She trailed off, blinking in surprise as she noticed something else. Something she should have, by all accounts, noticed beforehand... and yet it only became evident now, as a new sound entered her ears - loud enough that it finally hit her why she was being stonewalled.

Fuyuko was snoring. She didn't even sound out of the ordinary; she sounded oddly peaceful.

With an annoyed groan, Yuina raised one hand and lightly bonked her on the back of her head, as if knocking on a door. "Hey, sleepyhead. School's over."

"H... Huh? W-Whuzzat?" After a snort, Fuyuko jolted up, shaking her head. She rubbed her eyes, arching her spine like a cat and yawning hugely, before turning around with a lazy smile on her face. "Oh, hey, it's you. Yuina, I think...?"

"Yeah." Yuina took a step back, crossing her arms. "Are you seriously taking a nap outside your locker?"

Fuyuko chuckled lightly, flipping her hair over her shoulders. "No, no. I was leaning into it, remember?" She paused briefly, eyes idly flicking to her palm, before she folded both hands behind her back. "Didja need me for something?"

That momentary glance at her hand was all Yuina needed to confirm her suspicions. Deciding to cut straight to the point, she met Fuyuko's eyes, her gaze intensifying. "You have Countdown."

She was expecting a lot; for Fuyuko to admit it, or maybe to get angry at her and act defensive. What she  _ wasn't _ expecting was for her relaxed demeanor to stay, her poor posture not even flinching. Fuyuko even yawned again, covering her mouth with one hand. "... Really just throwing that out there for everyone to hear, huh?"

"Nobody's here. Does it really matter?" Yuina shifted uncomfortably. Was she too late? ... No, Shouhei and Haruna said this had started this morning. Definitely not twenty-four hours.

"I dunno, man. You never know who might turn the corner." Fuyuko shrugged, turning back to her locker and taking her backpack over her shoulder. She didn't say anything else, simply stuffing a few pencils inside before turning. "Good talking to you. You are kinda in my way, though." She chuckled softly.

"Sooo... you  _ do _ have it?" Yuina refused to budge, staring Fuyuko down in challenge.

Unfazed, Fuyuko turned and started to walk down the hallway, heading for the school entrance nearby. "Never said that. But, say I  _ did _ . Why're you coming to me about it?"

"H-Hey, don't just walk away when we're talking!" Yuina sputtered, gritting her teeth and jogging after her. "Look, I... I have experience with Countdown. I know what the deal is with it. It's a little complicated to explain, but... things are gonna be okay. I'm gonna make sure of it."

The only thing in Fuyuko's expression that changed was a raised eyebrow. "So you can control Countdown or something? You're starting to sound like one of those chuuni folks."

"That's not what I..." Yuina stopped herself, staring in confusion. "What?"

"Don't worry about it." Without even looking her way, Fuyuko continued. However, Yuina noticed something - she was walking a little more insistently than usual; she had started at a leisurely pace, but as Yuina picked up speed, so had she.

Ugh. Forget it. Yuina scowled, turning her back. "Fine. Have fun with whatever you're dealing with." She started to walk the other direction, ready to pick up some stuff from her locker and call it quits. If Fuyuko was going to be dodgy and annoying about this whole thing, then she didn't need any help.

"... Wait."

Fuyuko's soft voice stopped Yuina in her tracks. Questioningly, she looked over her shoulder to see Fuyuko doing the same. For once, she wasn't smiling, her expression holding a resigned frown. She looked almost  _ bored _ , which was a shock - while she wasn't the most expressive person from Yuina's limited interactions with her, she always looked to be enjoying herself. But none of that was present in her expression, nor in her speech.

"There are probably a decent amount of other people with Countdown, right?" Her tone sounded tired - in a different way than her normally drowsy drawl. "Work on helping them instead. They'll be more worth your time."

Yuina stared in shock. "B-But - "

"Don't worry. Whatever happens, no one's gonna miss me." Fuyuko held Yuina's eyes for a moment longer before turning, her expression shifting back to mellow in an instant. Before Yuina knew it, she was gone.

Yuina didn't move, just looking over her shoulder for a good few seconds with an expression of utter disbelief. Then, she turned and sprinted towards her locker, narrowly avoiding colliding with someone in the halls. Coming to a stop next to it, she hurriedly gathered her things, opening Chaos hastily on her phone and texting Saburo as soon as possible.

[4/10 3:49 PM] ThirdBass: update: someone has countdown. person at my school

[4/10 3:50 PM] time-crasher: That's bad

[4/10 3:51 PM] time-crasher: Any idea when it started

[4/10 3:53 PM] ThirdBass: this morning-ish, from what i can tell

[4/10 3:54 PM] ThirdBass: we should probably go find her shadow in a few hours or something idk

[4/10 3:55 PM] time-crasher: Good idea, can we meet at Kaihaku Park again

[4/10 3:56 PM] ThirdBass: yeah i'll be there at 6


	15. Gates of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Here's the new and improved dungeon chapters of Persona: The Okabe Files, starting with Shadow Fuyuko! I hope you enjoy; I had a ton of fun writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy the little surprise later on~  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_April 10th_

_Evening_

Yuina was a fairly fit person, and yet even she was out of breath from how hard she had pushed herself to get to the park. Bat in hand, she came to a stop next to a tree in the park, pleased as her eyes landed on Saburo. Her teammate was leaning against a different tree nearby, his arms folded. "Bit late," he noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Had to refill my cat's dishes. He has the appetite of a hummingbird." Yuina snorted. Noticing Saburo's look of confusion, she scratched her head. "... They eat a lot. Learned that in class."

"Oh." Saburo's eyes widened, though he hastily coughed into his sleeve. "Right. Of course."

"... What?" Yuina skeptically raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, it's just you don't strike me as the type to pay attention in - " Saburo cut himself off, shaking his head. "Anyway! Shadow business, right? Shadow business. Give me the details." He clapped his hands, standing in a straighter position. "So, who exactly are we looking out for, and do you know anything about what might have caused Countdown in them? Anything that might have caused sudden changes they need to adapt to?"

This was the difficult part. Yuina pursed her lips. "Her name's Fuyuko Miki. She has red hair and dresses all pink-like." She sighed, twirling her bat around nervously. "I wish I could tell you what made her get Countdown, but... I don't know her too well. We've talked twice."

Her mind flashed back to their conversation. "... The most I could tell you is that she's been feeling kinda useless, cause when I told her I'd help her, she pretty much said to ignore her cause nobody would miss her. I didn't get much else other than that, though." Even recounting the words made her feel a lurch in her gut. She knew what it was like to feel like being around didn't really... mean anything. But the difference was, she knew it meant something to Kanako. Fuyuko didn't seem to have someone like that.

Saburo seemed to share the same sentiments, his expression falling a bit. "... I see. That's helpful, but nothing game changing. Still, I'll take all the information we can get at this stage."

The two nodded to each other, coming to a silent agreement: they _would_ rescue Fuyuko, no matter what. Internally, Yuina couldn't help but feel some amazement; despite knowing absolutely nothing about her besides what Yuina had told her, Saburo had zero hesitation in going to rescue her. _He's nerdy, but... definitely a good guy._

"Shall we go, then?" Saburo raised his watch.

"Yeah. Let's jump right in." Yuina grinned, firmly pressing down on her watch button as well, closing her eyes.

_April 10_

_The Ticking Hell_

Once again, the change was imperceptible, but this time Yuina paid more attention to the different changes in her environment. The slight cool breeze she felt on her skin? Gone. The sound of the wind rustling the trees? Disappeared, slowly replaced by the familiar ticking. Even the grass beneath her feet felt... frozen, in a strange way. Slowly, she opened her eyes, facing Saburo - much to her relief, he was quick to move, taking a deep breath in anticipation and rubbing his hands together.

There was no doubt about it: they were in the Ticking Hell, together.

_... God, that name is still dumb._ Yuina managed to avoid saying as such, slinging her bat over her shoulder. "Well... we're here. Ready to fight?"

"You bet." Saburo took out his slingshot from his pocket, loading a rock in preparation. "I made sure to bring plenty of rocks - and there's more to find around the road! Plus, now that I've actually got a Persona, I can help you out more that way."

Yuina nodded, starting to walk out of the park. Might as well ask a few questions as they tried to find Fuyuko... assuming she was in her Shadow coma by now, anyway. She started with the first one that came to mind - one she considered the most important, as well. "So, is our plan just to walk around until we find her? Any way we can narrow things down?"

"Pretty easy one, actually." Saburo fiddled with his watch briefly, walking alongside his teammate. "Smaller Shadows tend to flock around bigger ones; the Countdown ones are pretty strong, so they can command the weaker ones. Sort of a pack mentality, like the most dangerous wild animal you've ever seen. Except maybe hyenas." He shuddered, glancing off to the side. "Hate those guys."

Yuina raised an eyebrow. Saburo protested, "Hey, haven't you seen the Lion King? They're scary!"

"Nope. Never seen it," Yuina replied nonchalantly. At Saburo's shocked look, she grunted, deciding to change the subject before the whole conversation got derailed. "Look, I've got another question. It's a weirder one. If you actually interact with stuff in this world, like... what happens when we go back?"

To demonstrate, she kneeled down and picked up a rock from the sidewalk, handing it to Saburo. "Like, you said you were gonna get rocks for your slingshot. Do those rocks just disappear when we get out, or do they go back to where they were?"

"Actually, they - thanks, by the way - go back. It's a little weird, honestly. Sometimes I leave forgetting that I put some rocks here in my pockets, and all of a sudden they're lighter." Saburo stuffed the rock in his pocket, keeping his slingshot loaded carefully. "Things you bring in are fine, though. So that bat of yours won't teleport back to your house, or anything like that." He scratched his chin. "Probably because, well, you entered the Ticking Hell while carrying all that stuff, so when you leave, you're still carrying it, and..."

He trailed off, noticing Yuina staring at him in amusement. "... Uh, point is, stuff goes back after you leave. Even if you break a window or something, it won't cause any real damage."

"So I can cause as much property damage as I want while fighting Shadows. Neat." Yuina smirked, twirling around her bat. She was about to ask another question, but upon seeing something in the distance, she blinked. Slowly, she took a few steps forwards, making sure she was seeing things correctly.

Saburo raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to her. "What is it? What?"

"Last question." Yuina pointed straight ahead. "Do we have to worry about that?"

Saburo looked to where she was pointing, only to do a double-take. The two teenagers were both staring at a new building smack-dab in the middle of the street. Ever since she first saw it, Yuina knew something was wrong with it; the entire form of the building seemed to wobble and shift from time to time, as if unstable. Even without that factored in, everything about the building just stuck out like a sore thumb. Besides it being in the middle of the road, it was in more of a circular shape than the rest, and instead of using bricks, it was covered in some sort of reflective surface...

... Wait, no. Those were mirrors. Even the entrance was barred by a reflective-looking door that was wide open, almost as if expecting the Timekeepers.

Saburo stared at the strange building for a few moments. "... Hmm. I think I've seen this a couple times before. Not this, erm, this _exact_ building. But I've seen a few Countdown Shadows that have the power to bend reality around them."

"And yours didn't?" Yuina glanced at him in mock surprise. "Your Shadow should've totally given you, like, some big sci-fi building or something. Or a spider's nest."

"Maybe it didn't have enough time. It happens." The sarcasm flew over Saburo's head as he studied the building curiously, rubbing his chin. "Either way, it looks like we've found our victim! Let's pay them a visit before she does anything nasty, eh?" He twirled around his slingshot in his hand eagerly before breaking out into a jog.

_Oh, boy..._ Yuina was excited, sure, but seeing a similar kind of adrenaline on someone else was... well, strange. Still, she dismissed it, keeping by her teammate's side.

The duo stopped in front of the entrance, though nobody stepped inside. Yuina didn't like the fact that it was completely dark inside; while she wasn't _afraid_ of the dark, it was the perfect place to get ambushed. Already, this whole setup felt like a trap waiting to happen. Experimentally, she poked her bat inside a few times, tensing in anticipation of some Shadow leaping out and attacking her with no warning.

Thankfully, no such thing happened. She took a step back, pressing on her watch. She wasn't taking any chances. "Hey, Caulfield."

The mechanical Persona sprang to life behind her, lazily leaning back in the air. _"Sup?"_

"You can make fire, right? Mind keeping some in your hand to, uh... light things up, I guess?" Yuina pointed towards the hall of mirrors. "Willing to bet we're going to get jumped, and it'd probably be a little easier for us to fight if we could, y'know. Actually see."

_"The most useful thing you can think of for me is providing a goddamn light?"_ Caulfield chuckled softly. _"That's about right. I'm not worth much else."_ He flew in front of his user, creating a ball of brilliant flame in his hand. Yuina let him advance a bit into the building, before carefully stepping inside behind him, looking over her shoulder. "You got a lighter or something for yourself?"

"Well, no. But..." Saburo experimentally pressed on his watch, giggling in childlike glee as Tristram appeared before him. "Tristram, light things up, if you could." His Persona spread its mummified legs, a soft yellow glow enveloping its body. It scuttled behind Yuina, providing more light than Caulfield with seemingly less effort.

Yuina crossed her arms with a sigh. "Your weird mummy-insect has better lighting than a _fire_ _user?_ "

"Hey, I'm a _light_ user. It comes with the territory." Saburo jabbed a finger in her direction. "I'm sure you're way better at burning Shadows, or making dinner. But when it comes to lighting the way, I'll always be the king."

Yuina snorted. "Right. Well, I have a Persona that can use darkness, so unless you want me to snuff out your light, we should probably get going."

Saburo nodded, and the two began carefully walking around. With the light from both Personas, Yuina could clearly make out their surroundings, and it seemed simple enough... so far. There was only one path ahead of them, though with how Saburo said this was "bent reality" or whatever, Yuina was half expecting the entire layout to change in an instant.

What really creeped her out, though, were the mirrors... again. They were on the outside, sure, but seeing them lining the walls was another experience entirely. Yuina had to resist flinching every time she took a few steps, thinking she caught movement out of the corner of her eye only for it to just be a reflection of one of the four. And even then, the more she advanced down the hall, the more she was expecting one of the reflections to change, or leap out at her... or something dumb like that. Forcing those thoughts out of her mind, she turned ahead, the two stepping into a larger room with two paths; left and right.

"... So this is a _maze_ too?" Yuina groaned, burying her face in her hands. She was about to ask Saburo which way to go, turning to her companion. However, some movements caught her eye - and not from the reflections surrounding her.

Quickly, she turned towards the right path to see someone sprinting down it, vanishing into the darkness before she could make any features out. Yuina's eyes narrowed. "... Guess we're going right."

"Uh." Saburo cleared his throat. "Not to be contrary or anything, but... wouldn't it be better to go left?"

_What?_ Yuina turned back to face him in disbelief. "Didn't you see that?"

"Well, yes, I did. That's exactly why I'm suggesting we go the _other_ way." Saburo laced his fingers together. "We're not ready to face off against a high-powered Shadow in an unfamiliar locale yet. I would personally scout out the area a bit more first, right? So we have a better idea of how this place works, maybe we can fight some weaker Shadows to get stronger... stuff like that."

Yuina stared at him for a few more seconds, as if he was speaking a foreign language. Then, she turned back towards the right path. "Or, y'know, we could just take her down right here, right now. Let's go."

"W-Wait!" Saburo stepped towards her, but too late, Yuina was sprinting down the hall as fast as she could, Caulfield keeping up from behind. Her eyes narrowed as she turned left, darting through the twists and turns ahead of her. She had _just seen_ someone here; she wasn't going to let them get away, even if Saburo just wanted to play chicken for a b - 

_WHAM!_

Yuina's entire momentum was halted as she slammed facefirst into a sudden wall, collapsing to the ground in a daze. She hadn't really hurt herself, but the impact was enough that she barely registered Caulfield disappearing and the mirrors shifting around her, boxing her in a single room. There was still light even without the flame from Caulfield, but that was the last thing on her mind right now. She rubbed her eyes, slowly getting to her feet before picking up her bat, ready to face down some sort of freak, or...

**_"Hmm hmm hmmmm..."_ **

Yuina stumbled as the reflections surrounding her vanished, looking around frantically. Only now did she realize she was alone. "... Saburo?" She whipped left and right, hoping he'd pop out of one of the walls, but no such luck. Only the one she had slammed into seemed to have any visible reflection anymore - a familiar figure, slowly advancing until she came into full view.

**_"Good to see you."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko smiled, her yellow eyes blinking slowly as she clasped both hands over her chest. **_"I almost thought you'd leave me in the dust."_ **

Yuina raised her bat cautiously, ready for her to transform into some freaky reflection demon. "Not a chance. Are you gonna get out of Fuyuko, or do I have to break every mirror here?"

Unfazed, Shadow Fuyuko covered her mouth, giggling softly. **_"I think that'll be kinda hard for you, considering how many there are You'll be swinging around that little toothpick for a few hours at best - "_ **

_SMASH!_

Yuina swung her bat straight into the mirror where Shadow Fuyuko was, shattering it into pieces instantly. She panted heavily, staring at the empty frame in front of her before looking down at the broken shards of glass at her feet. For a second, she almost thought she had gotten her.

Then, a taunting voice echoed through the room. **_"You really gotta visit anger management, girl."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko reappeared next to the mirror Yuina had broken, yawning hugely.

Yuina growled, raising her bat again. "Where the hell is Saburo?"

**_"Close by. I can't keep tabs on both of you at once, but I made sure he was, ah... a little occupied."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko shrugged, casually walking to her left and ending up in a new mirror. She continued taking steps, navigating to a different mirror each time - though she did skip one on the left side of the room as she circled Yuina, jumping instead to the one right after it. **_"Actually, that gives me an idea. Here, lemme help you cool off."_ **

She came to a stop in one mirror before snapping her fingers. The broken shards on the ground shuddered before turning into black goop, merging together in an instant. Yuina took a few nervous steps back as the Shadow ooze expanded, forming into a massive serpentine shape looming over her. Energy crackled around the Shadow as it took shape, transforming into a massive gray sock puppet sprouting from the ground, with black button eyes, viciously sharp pipe cleaners sprouting from its head like hair, and a yellow mask on its forehead.

**_"This is a Hasty Marionette."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko maneuvered next to the Shadow, smirking. **_"Hope you like puppet shows."_ **

"I wouldn't call myself a fan." Yuina pressed down on her watch, summoning Caulfield behind her.

***

One mission.

Saburo just wanted _one mission_ where things didn't go wrong. Given how he had someone headstrong, experienced in fighting, and all-around capable (if not a bit abrasive), he had been optimistic about this experience. Naturally, this meant his teammate immediately ditched him for her own goals, ignoring the three C's that were important to successful Shadow hunting: curious, careful, cautious.

... Well, come to think of it, careful and cautious were kind of the same thing, weren't they? He'd probably have to change one of those, because the two C's didn't seem right either. Courageous, maybe? No, that'd probably just encourage Yuina to go running after threats that were beyond her level ag - 

**"REEEEEE!"**

Oh, right. Shadow. Saburo turned his attention to the only other being in the room - a balloon-shaped puffer fish with a black string attached and an upside-down gray mask atop its... head? Not the kind of thing he'd want to see at parties, especially considering it was launching a sphere of green energy at him from its bulbous mouth. Hurriedly, Saburo dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the Garu spell.

"So, what can I call you?" Saburo was quick to jump to his feet, eyeing the Shadow carefully. Usually the Shadow ended up blabbing its name to him somehow or he learned it from one of those Countdown Shadows, but this one didn't seem especially keen on talking and Fuyuko wasn't here. Unless this was Fuyuko's berserk form. Considering he had no idea what she looked like, well, it was entirely possible...

_"It's a Prickly Floater,"_ came a sudden voice in his head.

"Oh, right, you can talk to me!" Saburo snapped his fingers, feeling an immense sense of relief at Tristram's guidance. "Not the best name in the world - little too blunt for my tastes - but it'll do. How about we pop this Floater?" Feeling a selection of spells pop into his mind, he just spoke the first one that came to mind, slamming his palm down on his watch. "How about a Kouha?"

Tristram materialized behind him, screeching and spreading its arms. A bright flash emerged from the top of its head, the rays of light searing the Floater's flesh and causing it to float back in discomfort, its form practically shrinking. Saburo was about to follow up, drawing back his slingshot, but the Shadow abruptly expanded to a much larger size, shooting out its spines in all directions. Saburo swung his coat around himself defensively, wincing as one of the spikes embedded itself straight into its shoulder. With difficulty, he pulled it away, trying to ignore the stinging sensation - and noticing the spines growing back instantly out of the corner of his eye.

"You didn't even cause a _scratch_ on any of the mirrors," he pointed out to the Shadow, gesturing all around him. "You could've tried a little harder than that."

While the Prickly Floater was confused by his talking, Saburo hurriedly reared up his slingshot and shot a rock straight into its mouth. The stone plugged it up like a cork in a bottle, the Shadow flailing around and trying to make sputtering noises - to no avail. Its body began to shrink again, but Saburo wasn't about to get more spines in his coat, and hurriedly thrust one hand out. Tristram skittered across the ground, sliding up to the Shadow and slashing one leg across its body in a vicious cleaving motion.

_POP!_

Saburo jumped in surprise as the Prickly Floater popped, turning deflated in an instant and falling to the ground uselessly. The Shadow's limp body - string and all - dissolved into formless goop before sinking into the ground, leaving no trace behind.

"Well. That was easier than I thought." Satisfied, Saburo brushed off his coat, pulling out a few of the spines from it in annoyance. There were tiny holes, sure, but... he'd have to get those patched up quickly, otherwise he'd be running around in a tattered coat. What was that thing his mother said? A stitch in time saved nine? Yes, that was it!

After dismissing Tristram, he eyed the surrounding walls carefully. None of them were leaving any reflections, which was... disconcerting, but nothing he couldn't handle. Unfortunately, this meant none of them could really give him a clue as to an exit... would he just have to shoot rocks at every mirror to get out? There had to be a way out somewhere. Maybe he could have Tristram carve through the walls or something.

... Or, maybe he could try something a little risky. Clearing his throat, he shouted out towards the mirror, "Hey, Fuyuko! Or Shadow Fuyuko, if you prefer! You around? I'd like to talk for a bit!"

Much to his surprise, there _was_ a response, though it wasn't exactly one he would have liked to see. His surrounding reflections all vanished, replaced by a red-haired teen. She only looked like she was half-awake, which was... almost insulting, really, especially when she yawned. **_"Oh. You actually took care of that Shadow, huh?"_ **

"We haven't been properly introduced! My name's Saburo Sasaki." Saburo saw fit to bow slightly. "Amateur Persona user, expert slingshot user. I don't mean to be rude, but..." He smacked his lips together, rubbing his chin. "You wouldn't happen to know where Yuina is? She's a dear friend of mine, so it'd be great if you could get us back together as soon as possible."

**_"Mm. Sorry, no can do."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko shook her head. **_"She's still dealing with her Shadow. Threw a bit of a stronger one at her, since she's got her fancy Persona-changing powers."_ **

She paused for a moment, looking over Saburo. Her expression seemed to turn the slightest bit more alert. **_"Though... on that note, why are you even here, dude?"_ **

Saburo had a whole speech ready, but that caught him off guard. "Eh?"

**_"Well... if Yuina's got multiple Personas, and is inevitably going to get more... what are you stuck with? Just one?"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko slowly folded her arms. **_"She seems ready to swing around that bat and smash up any Shadows she runs into. Heck, the whole reason I decided to make this place is because of that little stunt with her beating your Shadow. Figured I'd need to spice things up a bit for someone as tough as her."_ ** She gestured towards the reflective walls around her, before returning to her more serious position. **_"See what I'm getting at?"_ **

Saburo stepped back uncomfortably, keeping his slingshot ready just in case. He didn't like where Fuyuko was going with this. "... She asked me to be her teammate, y'know."

The Shadow smirked slightly, her yellow eyes almost seeming to flash. **_"Sure she did. Probably cause she felt sorry for you. I mean... look at yourself."_ **

She disappeared, and the entire room flashed as Saburo's reflection suddenly seemed to briefly appear on every mirror in the room - starting behind him, then slowly converging around, skipping one on the right side before the split-second reflections converged in front of him. Sure enough, it was just... him, staring back at himself. With the way Shadow Fuyuko presented it, Saburo couldn't help but notice the imperfections. How skinny he was, his glasses being slightly crooked, his outfit looking over-the-top and mismatched...

**_"Really, anyone would probably take pity on you at this stage. I know what it's like to be a waste of space."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko reappeared some distance away from Saburo's reflection. With a snap of her fingers, one of the mirrors' surface seemed to wobble. **_"Here's the deal: you might as well just walk away before she realizes she doesn't need you. This will take you right back to the entrance. No catch. I'll even leave her alive."_ **

She grinned towards Saburo, her smile looking a little too wide. **_"What do you say? One-time offer."_ **

The gears were turning far more quickly in Saburo's head. He avoided eye contact with Shadow Fuyuko, staring at the ground as he mulled over the situation. What was he supposed to say to that...? Fuyuko didn't even seem particularly upset about it; she almost sounded... kind and understanding. Not what he had expected from a Shadow like this.

**_"You may wanna decide soon. Not sure how much longer I can keep..."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko trailed off, raising an eyebrow. She waved one hand. **_"Hey, uh... anyone home?"_ **

Saburo blinked, looking back up at her. "Ah. Sorry. I was just thinking on this one line I was about to say to you..." He clapped his hands. "Guess I won't have time to make sure it sounds good; we'll just see how it is in practice!"

Shadow Fuyuko stared at him blankly. **_"... What?"_ **

"While you were so focused on trying to get me out of the fight, I was looking around for exits. Granted, there was nothing obvious, so I had to focus on the tiny little details." Saburo folded both arms behind his back, casually taking some steps towards the right side of the room. "On that note, if you really thought I was the sort of person with abysmal self-confidence, your sense of judgement is _terrible._ "

He raised one hand. "Anyway! I noticed, when you did that fancy make-my-reflection-go-everywhere trick, you skipped over a mirror. You were happy to make my reflection appear anywhere _except_ there. Why might that be? Maybe you just weren't practicing on that enough... or maybe there's something important there. Tristram, why don't you verify my theory?"

Shadow Fuyuko watched in stunned silence as Saburo summoned his Persona in front of the correct mirror. Tristram raised one claw and slashed it in half, chittering violently. The two halves dropped to the ground, revealing... what else? Not one, but _two_ pathways. One seemed to lead deeper into the maze. The other seemed like it led to an empty room, until Saburo caught a glimpse of Yuina getting jumped by some sort of massive puppet Shadow.

He glanced at the appalled Fuyuko with a grin. "By the way - nice try with the reflection, but I'm not _that_ slim."

... Okay, good, that was an appropriate one-liner. Satisfied, he dashed into the room where Yuina was, ready to rescue his friend.

***

Yuina really needed to stop underestimating Shadows. Sure, the fight had been going well beforehand, but one Bufu straight into her stomach and she had found herself on the ground, with the Hasty Marionette diving straight towards her and pinning her down with its massive sock-like body. It opened its toothy mouth wide - though it was panting heavily, it was clearly ready for a meal. She defiantly raised her bat, praying she had enough time to smash it over the head before it bit off a chunk of her.

Luckily, she didn't need to. The sudden shattering of glass caught her attention, followed up by a rock smacking straight into the back of the Shadow's head. Yuina wasted no time in kicking the Marionette's side, rolling over so it was underneath her and smashing it repeatedly in the face with her bat. She displaced the Shadow's button eyes with two strikes, and her third smashed it straight into the ground, its body disintegrating into strange black particles that scattered into the air harmlessly.

Yuina panted heavily before looking over her shoulder, seeing Saburo and Tristram standing confidently. Saburo pushed his glasses up his nose. "... Can you not run off like that?"

Yuina blinked. She wanted to be passive-aggressive or say something about doing fine without him, but... she couldn't bring herself to say anything like that, scratching her head a bit sheepishly. "... Uh, yeah. Sorry. You were right. And, uh, thanks for saving me."

God, she was going soft. She needed to take it out on Fuyuko's Shadow. Before she could think about that too hard, Saburo clapped his hands. "Not a big deal. Just remember, we're teammates. I'm on your side, okay? Even if we may have disagreements. And hey, sometimes you might need me not to die."

Okay, Yuina wasn't going to let _that_ slide. "Hey, I had a pretty good chance of not dying if I nailed the dumb puppet at the right time." She crossed her arms.

"Dumb puppet?" Saburo seemed almost offended. "It was kinda cute! Okay, not _really,_ but... kinda...?" He shifted briefly, before coughing. "Never mind that. Before we get out of here, I was actually thinking about something."

He swung his slingshot in the general direction behind him. "Saw a nice hallway there. Probably leads over to Shadow Fuyuko. I'm willing to bet she used most of her energy on making this whole place and getting Shadows to fight us... and I did sorta leave her speechless."

Yuina blinked. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear upon meeting him again. Okay, well, maybe the hallway leading to Fuyuko part, but... not the speechless part. "How the fuck did _that_ happen?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Or maybe later, depending on how long this hall is." Saburo shrugged, waving one hand. "But it made me realize... the only time I've seen her, she was inside reflections. It didn't seem like she could really step out of them, otherwise she probably would've strangled me for outwitting her." He crossed his arms. "So, by chance... did you get a good view of who you were running after before she trapped you?"

Come to think of it... he was right. Fuyuko hadn't left any of the mirrors since the two started speaking. Yuina tapped her foot against the glass floor, deep in thought. As much as she wanted to say it was Shadow Fuyuko for _sure..._ she hadn't made out any details, at least from what she could remember. "... Wish I could say yes."

"About what I thought; the light was pretty dim." Saburo eyed her for a moment before spinning around to face the hallway behind him. "That's probably not the point here. No reason to get needlessly paranoid." He adjusted his watch. "How about we deal with what we _can_ control: Shadow Fuyuko. Let's go say hello, shall we?"

  
Yuina had so many questions, but... he was right. None of them were the sort of thing that was important _now._ "Yeah. Let's pay her a visit." She slung her baseball bat over her shoulder, grinning, before following Saburo's lead.


	16. Step To Oblivion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - here's the showdown with Shadow Fuyuko! I'm super proud of this one; I hope you enjoy the big fight... as well as a couple other important things. ;D  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 10 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

As soon as she had gotten her bearings, Yuina practically sprinted down the hallway - though unlike before, she made sure Saburo was actually by her side, running in a manner that he could reasonably keep up with. Her patience rewarded her; she not only didn't slam into any randomly appearing walls, but she burst into an open room with her teammate. The walls were covered in mirrors as usual, but where the rooms the two had been trapped in were simple and rectangular in shape, this one was not only much larger, but had a dome-like roof. Like before, none of them actually reflected Yuina or Saburo's presence.

That barely processed in Yuina's mind, though. Her eyes locked onto their target: Shadow Fuyuko, chilling out in one mirror at the far end of the room. Yuina slung her bat off her shoulder, swinging it like she was about to nail a home run. "You done messing with us?" she shouted, feeling confidence surging within her.

**_"Honestly, it kinda lost the novelty value after your friend there shrugged my best shot off."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko shrugged, folding her hands behind her head.

"That was your best shot?" Saburo raised an eyebrow.

  
Yuina smirked - from that alone, she felt some excitement. "Looks like you're just as lazy as the real Fuyuko, huh? It'd probably be better for you to surrender. Otherwise we're going to give you a  _ huge _ workout." She took a few steps forwards, making sure Saburo had her back.

**_"I mean... what's the point in doing anything when you're like her?"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko sighed, the relaxed smile on her face wavering in an instant.  **_"No talent... no drive... nothing special. You'd probably give up on doing anything too."_ **

_ That _ caught Yuina off guard, and she faltered in her smooth strides towards the Shadow. "... Is that really what you think?"

**_"How could I not? Seeing everyone else going about their day, having their own 'thing' that they can do..."_ ** Any signs of merriment from Shadow Fuyuko were gone, and Yuina could even hear some seething anger underneath her even tone.  **_"You've got baseball and guitar. Even your friend there seems to know what he's doing with Shadows. What do I do? Sit around and look pretty?"_ **

The smoky aura around her intensified as, all of a sudden, she appeared on  _ all _ of the mirrors on the other side, taking up almost half of the room. Yuina and Saburo both jolted, even though her voice wasn't any louder.  **_"Maybe I'm just tired of being the one person who doesn't matter. I DO have value; I DO have talent. And everyone's going to know it, because soon me being 'lazy' will be completely gone. Are you going to take that away from me?"_ **

Just like Shadow Saburo, Yuina almost agreed with her, but... she fought that instinct, instead raising her bat as Shadow Fuyuko's additional reflections disappeared. "No one should ever feel like they're worthless. But this isn't the way to fix things, Fuyuko."

Saburo nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I don't know you, but... you've undoubtedly got virtues if Yuina wanted to save you. Yeah, laziness is hard to get over, but..." He reached out. "Maybe you just need someone to help pull you up when you're feeling down, y'know? We don't have to do this!"

Shadow Fuyuko shook her head, chuckling softly.  **_"Nah. We can try the whole being friends thing when I've actually got a leg to stand on."_ ** Her body began to shimmer, and her hair suddenly began to crackle with energy.  **_"I've finally got a chance to be a somebody... and you're not going to take it away from - "_ **

_ SMAAAAAAAAASH! _

With a swing of her bat, Yuina smashed the glass before her to bits. She panted heavily, staring down at the shards now surrounding her. She couldn't take it anymore; what Fuyuko was saying... She shook her head, taking a few steps back cautiously. There was no way it was that easy. -Saburo seemed to share a similar sentiment, given how he was raising his slingshot all around him...

... Wait. Yuina hesitated, staring up at the mirrors around her.  _ All _ of them were suddenly cracked, and it looked like they were breaking even more, with a cracking sound even echoing through the whole room - 

"Watch out!" She dove straight into Saburo, grabbing him and pinning him to the ground - and not a moment too soon, as every mirror in the room shattered at once.

Ultimately, Yuina's panic proved unnecessary, as the millions of shards did not fall straight down, but instead stayed suspended in midair before floating to the scattered bits, swirling together and assembling themselves like a jigsaw puzzle. Yuina let go of Saburo and got to her feet, staring in wonder at the blizzard of fragments swirling before her. Piece by piece, they clicked together - first forming four paws, then a slender feline-like body, and finally the head of a panther, with empty eye sockets. Instead of stopping at the tail, though, the remaining shards formed into three implements attached to the monster's backside - it was hard to make out what they were with the reflective texture, but they were all sharp and deadly, waving around like additional tails.

**_"I am a Shadow, the herald of change!"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko arched her back upwards with a hiss, her front paws unsheathing a pair of wickedly sharp black claws.  **_"Come; I'll reflect your utter meaninglessness."_ **

With the press of a button, Yuina summoned Caulfield by her side, staring Shadow Fuyuko down. She thought Shadow Saburo had set a standard for Shadows, but the panther-like creature leering at her already looked bigger and more dangerous. It just meant she had to fight harder. She was ready for anything... at least, she hoped.

"Hiyah!" Saburo sent a rock flying straight at Shadow Fuyuko's face, but she reacted almost lightning-fast, crouching and pouncing straight above the Timekeepers with little effort. Twisting her body in midair, she landed behind the two Persona users, facing them, before snarling and dashing forwards. Yuina barely had enough time to jump in front of Saburo and swing out her bat just as Shadow Fuyuko swiped with one of her claws, the force from the strike nearly knocking the bat away with little effort. Yuina grit her teeth as she held Shadow Fuyuko's paw back, praying Saburo would capitalize.

And, well... he tried to. She caught a barrage of light particles shooting out at Shadow Fuyuko, but one of her tail implements swiped outwards above her head, parrying the Kouha attack.  **_"Nice try, but I'm not that dumb."_ ** With a grin, she aimed the same implement down at Yuina, who barely managed to leap back before it stabbed straight into the ground, using the momentum from the two pressing up against each other to propel herself further back.

As Shadow Fuyuko glared at the duo, Yuina could see more clearly what was attached to her behind; they were three prehensile weapons - a sword, a spear, and a whip, with only the tail maintaining a constant length and the armory seeming more prehensile. Her suspicions were confirmed as the Shadow's sword suddenly expanded, snapping out over Shadow Fuyuko's shoulder and swiping in an arc that forced Yuina to back up even further.

With a glance at Saburo, Shadow Fuyuko hissed before leaping his way. Saburo panicked and dove to the side, and she soared over him, her claws scraping across the ground as she came to a stop. Rolling onto his side, Saburo tried loading another rock and firing it at the Shadow, but her whip tail snapped out in an instant, sending the pebble tumbling away.

Fuyuko turned around, lifting her head smugly.  **_"Yeesh... at least make me try a little."_ ** She slowly began to advance, moving in a very lackadaisical manner.

"Any way we can slow her down?" Yuina glanced towards Saburo, ignoring the taunt as best as she could. She kept her bat raised, even though Shadow Fuyuko was advancing nonchalantly - there was no telling when she'd decide to speed things up, if she was telling the truth. And given how easily she had been able to parry their attacks, she was inclined to believe her.

Saburo tossed a rock into his slingshot, holding it out in front of him nervously like a warding charm. "... Some Shadows can slow down your reflexes. Can you do that?"

Yuina was about to ask, but Caulfield's voice cut in.  _ "No can do. Best I can do is hit her harder, and given how she's treating us like a goddamn cat toy, that's not what you're going for. The other gal might, though." _

It took a second for Yuina to get what she was saying. She took a few steps backwards to keep some distance between her and Shadow Fuyuko before turning the rim of her watch, swapping to Succubus in an instant. "Hey, uh... demon lady? Got anything to help?"

_ "I guess, since you asked so nicely." _ Succubus winked before generating a ball of green flames in her hand. Shadow Fuyuko cackled, her sword tail preemptively raising above her head. Succubus launched the orb at her, and she swiped outwards - only for the Sukunda spell to cling onto her blade, spreading through her whole body like a virus. Shadow Fuyuko's form visibly shimmered, her reflections briefly disappearing.

**_"... Hm?"_** Fuyuko didn't seem particularly hurt by the attack, but she did blink in surprise, her tail returning back - at a noticeably slower rate. She seemed to notice, the shards around her eye sockets shifting to an angry glare. **_"What did you just - "_**

That was as far as she got before a rock slammed straight into her maw, causing her to back away with a hiss. Before she could get too far, Yuina lunged forwards and smashed her bat down straight into Shadow Fuyuko's skull. Impressively, the glass didn't shatter immediately, but she did hear a distinct  _ CRACK _ , grinning in satisfaction as a large split appeared down the Shadow's head.

Impressively, Shadow Fuyuko didn't scream in pain or anything like that, though there was a visible scowl on her face.  **_"Oh. That's what you did, huh?"_ **

Yuina darted in for another strike, but Shadow Fuyuko managed to swing out her sword tail and parry her bat, albeit a lot more clumsily than before. Unfortunately, that left her open to assault from Saburo, and he thrust one hand out, sending Tristram scuttling towards his adversary at high speed. Shadow Fuyuko attempted to snap out with her whip to discourage the Persona, but she was a split second too late as Tristram slashed one leg across her side, cutting a gash in her body.  _ That _ got Shadow Fuyuko to stumble with a pained yowl, leaping back hastily and making sure she had some distance from the group. Just from those few hits, she already looked like she was about to fall apart.

"Hmm. Literal glass cannon, huh?" Saburo seemed amused, loading another rock in his slingshot. "I don't know why I thought you were scary."

**_"You're so unhesitant to break things... people, no less."_ ** Shadow Fuyuko growled, her tails swishing around threateningly.  **_"It's disgusting."_ **

Yuina glared right back, switching back to Caulfield. "You're not a person, you're a Shadow." She dragged her bat across the ground, making sure the scraping sound was audible. "Do we have to shatter you into pieces? Or are you gonna let Fuyuko actually act by herself?"

Shadow Fuyuko's eyes flashed with rage, and all of her tail weapons pointed at the Persona users in challenge.  **_"You might be able to dish it out, but can you take it?"_ **

"Wrong answer!" Yuina prepared to have Caulfield launch a fireball, but Shadow Fuyuko threw her head up towards the ceiling and let out an ear-piercing screech. The air around her glowed purple briefly before an intense pressure materialized around both Yuina and Saburo, psionic energy assaulting them from all sides. Yuina grit her teeth, feeling intense pain ring out through her head - without thinking, she dropped her bat, clutching at her temples as the mirgaine pounded through her skull.

Then, suddenly, the pressure faded. Yuina blinked before something slammed straight into her, sending her toppling to the ground. Shadow Fuyuko glared down at her, pointing her spear tail straight at her forehead.  **_"I think you meant right answer."_ **

Yuina gulped, trying to ignore the claws digging into her chest. She tried to reach for her bat, but Fuyuko knocked it away with her sword tail, raising the spear for a clean stab through Yuina's head. "Saburo!" she shouted frantically, praying that he could do something to stop her from shishkebabbing her.

_ SHING! _

All of a sudden, the spear dropped - thankfully, not on her head, but still onto her body. In fact, the entire tail had dropped onto her body - it was surprisingly heavy, causing Yuina to gasp sharply for air. Shadow Fuyuko stumbled off her, letting out catlike screeches and backing off again; with difficulty, Yuina managed to roll to the side, getting the limp tail off her, and got to her feet, running to Saburo quickly.

Carefully, she glanced down to the severed tail, then over to Tristram. "... Your Persona is fuckin' brutal, man."

"Look, I really didn't want her stabbing you, okay?" Saburo protested, raising both hands defensively.

Yuina snorted. Still, cutting off the tails seemed like a good idea; she couldn't really do that with her Persona, considering Caulfield probably wouldn't be able to punch them off, so the best she could do was give Saburo the opportunity to sever them from the Shadow. She raised her bat, idly musing to herself... was this what it was like to work as a team? She kinda liked it.

Shadow Fuyuko had recovered, though her expression had shifted to convey muted rage, and Yuina could hear her sputtering curses under her breath.  **_"... That... really... HURT."_ **

"Good. It's gonna hurt more in a second." Yuina spun around her bat, nodding to Saburo before the two charged in together. Careful not to trip over the severed tail lying on the ground, Yuina leapt forwards and brought her bat down in a crushing arc, followed up by Saburo flinging a rock her way; however, both attacks were deflected by Shadow Fuyuko's sword. She took a step back, holding both weapons out in front of her face in a defensive stance.

Well, it made sense she'd probably be more defensive after what had happened. Deciding to soften her up a bit, Yuina swapped to Succubus, wordlessly commanding her Persona. The demoness giggled, putting a finger to her lips before lobbing another ball of green fire at the Shadow; the Sukunda once again coursed through her body, slowing down her movements. However, it did nothing to change Shadow Fuyuko's stance, and she kept her weaponry firmly in place.

That didn't stop Yuina, though. She feinted to the side before swinging her bat in the other direction to try to catch her off guard; however, Shadow Fuyuko was more than ready for that, batting Yuina's strike away with her sword. She sneered, before snapping her whip out, slashing it straight across her opponent's chest.

"G-Grgh...!" Yuina hadn't expected a whip to hurt  _ that _ much, from what she knew, but it felt like she had just received a vicious slice across her chest with a knife. She barely managed to raise her bat in time for Shadow Fuyuko swiping with one of her claws, only saved by her slowed reflexes, and fell to the ground. Shadow Fuyuko took another step forwards, preparing a strike...

... only to glance towards Saburo, who was trying to approach while she was distracted.  **_"What do you think you're doing?"_ ** she hissed.

"Hoping you'll keep fighting her for a few seconds?" Saburo grinned sheepishly before turning around. Yuina caught a brief glimpse of him... nodding towards her...? Before she could process what she had seen, her teammate had started sprinting away from the Shadow.

Fuyuko didn't seem keen on letting him by, turning her attention entirely off Yuina and snapping out with her whip. The weapon extended far above her head to snag around Saburo's legs, tripping him and causing him to collapse to the ground in pain... and leaving her weapon outstretched.

Oh.

OH.

"Thank you, Saburo," Yuina muttered under her breath before getting to her feet. Fighting through the searing pain across her body, she threw her bat over her shoulder before leaping straight up to the outstretched tail. Before Shadow Fuyuko could retract it all the way, she grabbed onto the appendage, gripping as hard as she could and trying to ignore the edges of glass prodding at her hands.

**_"H-Hey! Get off me!"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko jolted in surprise at Yuina's legs suddenly in her face, waving around her tail. Thinking fast, Yuina kicked with both feet hard, smashing Fuyuko straight in the face with her combat boots and bringing her wild flailing to a brief stop. That was just enough for her to swing off the tail, throwing herself forwards and landing on Shadow Fuyuko's back. Saburo was still recovering from the whip across his legs, but... maybe there was another way she could get rid of those other tails.

"Hey, Fuyuko?" She glared down at the Shadow, summoning Caulfield. "Ever heard of glass blowing?"

She took a moment to savor Shadow Fuyuko looking up at her in horror before snapping her fingers. Caulfield chuckled, generating two balls of fire in his hand and lobbing them at the base of Shadow Fuyuko's remaining weaponry, causing the glass to glow red. While that didn't seem to hurt her that much, what  _ did _ hurt was Caulfield following up with a vicious one-two punch towards both superheated points, causing the brittle glass to shatter - and the implements to fall.

**_"RGH!"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko roared in pain, thrashing violently enough that Yuina lost her footing and went tumbling to the ground. She didn't even care; she had gotten the weapons off, and that was the important part. 

Panting slightly, she got up and stumbled towards Saburo, who had since gotten up. "... You okay?"

Saburo winced, looking down at his legs. "Definitely gonna have lash marks on my ankles for a bit, but... I'll be fine." He glanced towards Shadow Fuyuko, who was still recovering from the assault. "You're a heck of a daredevil, you know that?"

"Sometimes you gotta improvise. And hey, without you, I wouldn't have been able to do that." Satisfied, Yuina clapped her friend on the back before pointing to the Shadow. "How about we finish the job?"

"I'd like nothing better." Saburo grinned, pressing on his watch and calling Tristram by his side.

Shadow Fuyuko shook her head, her body looking noticeably more cracked than usual - especially her face, which made her glare particularly creepy. Still, Yuina stood her ground, only faltering as Shadow Fuyuko actually spoke, her voice sounding... not only tired, but resigned.  **_"Is this... is this really what you want?"_ **

"For you to leave Fuyuko alone? Yeah." The normal biting vitriol behind Yuina's words wasn't nearly as pronounced as she swung her bat up onto her hand, smacking it against her palm.

**_"So you WANT me to feel worthless? Like nothing I do matters? That I could just disappear and nobody would care?"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko sounded... desperate, almost. The glare on her face faded, the shards on her face shifting to a pleading expression completely unlike the vicious behavior she had displayed earlier... and as she continued to speak, Yuina could've sworn the distortion in her voice had lessened.  **_"I'm just a waste of space. This is the chance I have to change all of that, and you're just going to rip it away?"_ **

Uncomfortably, Yuina took a step back. If that really  _ was _ Fuyuko speaking, then... was she right? What if she would be happier with her Shadow taking the reins? Before she could question herself too much, though, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember, she specializes in trickery and misdirection," Saburo warned. He turned his attention back to Shadow Fuyuko, pointing his slingshot. "Guilt-trip us all you want, but... you're not actually making her feel any better, you know. You're just making it  _ look _ like she's better, with no one else knowing better. Do you really think that's okay?"

That jolted Yuina back to her senses. She nodded in agreement, assuming a combat stance once more. "... Look. Fuyuko, if you can hear me... I thought I didn't really have anything to do either. I just felt completely aimless. But then I met one of my closest friends, and... then I met Saburo, and, well. Things are getting a lot better. They  _ do _ get better. You just have to stick with it, and find the right people. There's always  _ someone _ out there who's better with you around, no matter what."

She summoned Caulfield, her eyes narrowing as she switched to addressing the Shadow. "Now, you. Get the fuck out of my friend, before I break you to pieces."

Shadow Fuyuko stared blankly at the two for a few seconds, and it almost felt like she would actually surrender. Unfortunately, not that Yuina was surprised, she shook her head, her movements becoming more frantic by the second.  **_"... No.... no, no, NO! I finally have a host, and I can make everything better for her! I have the power to change things! And you're NOT going to take it away from me!"_ **

Yuina prepared for an attack, but a sudden scraping sound across the ground behind her got her attention. It was Saburo's turn to save her, as he dashed towards her and shoved her out of the way, diving down to the ground as Shadow Fuyuko's fallen weapons flew straight over her head, all of them breaking into individual pieces and swirling above Shadow Fuyuko in a glassy vortex. 

Yuina was ready to get a bunch of shards in her face, but what she wasn't expecting were the chunks of glass to expand, quickly turning even bigger than her or her teammate. Shadow Fuyuko yowled towards the ceiling, and the now massive shards shot out into the air, slamming down around the group and embedding themselves into the ground like some sort of twisted cage. They were practically full-body mirrors with how huge they were, looking like giant reflective teeth sticking out of the ground.

"Well, guess we're not retreating," Saburo noted, nervously glancing at the reflections surrounding him.

Shadow Fuyuko snarled, dragging one claw across the ground threateningly.  **_"How are you going to fight me when you're too busy fighting yourselves?"_ **

Yuina was about to question what she meant, but a movement directly across from her caught her eye. She gulped, seeing her reflection waving at her before stepping out of the mirror, smacking its bat against its palm with a smirk. The other reflections followed suit, clones of Saburo and Yuina quickly surrounding the group, with Shadow Fuyuko leading the ensemble of fakes. She raised her head pridefully, her expression turning confident again as she gave the two a moment to observe their opponents.

Carefully, Yuina turned around, facing the reflections behind the two. They were greater in numbers, sure... but given how she had her Persona and none of her copies did, she figured she had an advantage. Besides, these were probably glass. The situation wasn't as hopeless as it seemed... at least, she hoped.

"Cover me?" she offered, glancing over her shoulder.

"I'll, uh... do my best." Saburo loaded his slingshot, flinching as he noticed his reflections doing the same - but with circular chunks of glass instead of rocks. "Do you really think we can take all of these?"

**_"Get them!"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko roared.

"Guess we're about to find out." After a deep breath, Yuina charged to meet her reflections.

Fighting herself was a surreal experience; Yuina barely managed to duck under a swing from one of her clones, retaliating with a sweeping strike to the legs. As her copy fell to the ground, she smashed her bat into its chest as hard as she could, almost relieved as she saw it shatter into glass, losing its texture. She had no time to celebrate as a sudden blow to her head sent her tumbling to the ground, pain throbbing through her skull.

_ Oh. So that's what it feels like. _ Yuina struggled to get up, but a scampering sound from behind caused her breath to hitch. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding Shadow Fuyuko slamming her claws down into the ground where she was hard enough that Yuina could see visible gouges in the floor. The Shadow was quick to turn, crouching down for another pounce her way, but a blinding light flashed straight in her face, causing her to screech and back away.

"Thanks." Yuina gave a brief nod to Tristram before raising her bat defensively, managing to parry a blow from another one of her reflections in a split second. She pressed her bat up against the other's, gritting her teeth - and observing the smug smirk on her copy's face. Did she really look like  _ that _ much of a bitch?

"Hey, Yuina! Duck!"

Yuina hurriedly ducked - not a moment too soon, as a glass sphere smashed straight through her clone's forehead, causing the rest of its body to shatter. Deciding to ignore the visual of her with a completely clean hole through her forehead, she whipped around to see a Saburo reflection gulping, nervously reloading their slingshot. Not wanting to give him the chance to shoot her again, she hurriedly summoned Succubus, launching an Eiha blast straight into its chest and watching it break apart.

_ "Poor, fragile things." _ Succubus chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand.  _ "Can't they be a little more fun?" _

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that." Yuina only had a moment to feel satisfied before yet another copy of her dashed at her with its bat out, forcing her to step back. Bat met bat as the two pressed up against each other, one irritated and the other confident. Before Yuina could try to break the stalemate, though, something clicked in the back of her mind - where was Shadow Fuyuko?

Out of the corner of her eye, she turned to see Saburo - who had been helping her throughout this whole fight, and seemed to be doing well with his own reflections, tons of broken glass scattered around his feet. However, as he aimed his slingshot towards a Yuina clone charging him, the real Yuina noticed a familiar figure scampering towards him at high speed.

"Hey, Succubus. Here's your 'fun'." Yuina pointed, and Succubus was content to launch another blast of darkness, the spell erupting against Shadow Fuyuko's side and sending her off-course. She slammed facefirst into one of the massive shards blocking the group off, yowling in pain and shaking her head to try to focus.

There were only a few reflections left, and Yuina was feeling pretty confident with how flimsy they were. Seeing as Fuyuko was incapacitated for a moment, she dashed straight into the fray, beside her teammate once more as the two struck out at every reflection they could. A Saburo clone shot another glass ball at her, but Yuina swung her bat like she was hitting a home run, shattering the ball in midair and retaliating with another burst of darkness from Succubus. As the clone shattered, she spun around, raising her bat and swiping at the shoulder of another Saburo reflection that had tried to sneak up on her - 

"Ow!" A loud  _ PING _ echoed through the room as Saburo stumbled back, rubbing his shoulder.

_ Oh. Real one. _ Yuina grinned sheepishly, scratching her head. At least she hadn't been swinging that hard anymore, considering the reflections fell apart if she so much looked at them funny. "... Sorry. Kinda got caught up in the moment, I guess."

"I get a free hit on you with the slingshot." Saburo grumbled, though he flashed a grin shortly after. "They're all down, anyway."

Yuina blinked, looking around. Come to think of it, she couldn't actually see any other copies. "... Huh, they are - "

_ BRZZZT! _

Another splitting headache caused her to stumble back and nearly fall onto her backside, fighting to maintain a grip on her bat as her vision went purple. She planted her weapon onto the ground with both hands to keep herself steady, managing to fight through the pain enough to see Shadow Fuyuko on the other end of the mirror cage, howling towards the sky. That was all she got a glimpse of before another Mapsi bolt exploded against her forehead, causing everything to go blurry and out of focus again.

_ She's desperate... one good shot on her and it'll be over! _ As much as Yuina wanted to believe it would be that simple, whenever she tried to take a step forward, she felt another sharp strike through her mind that caused her knees to buckle. It felt like Fuyuko was taking a knife to her skull repeatedly, and even her method of keeping herself up was starting to fail. She couldn't even concentrate enough to press the button on her watch, and dimly, she could she Saburo having the same trouble.

... "S-Saburo... please... do something..." she coughed out before another psychic blast broke her concentration, and she collapsed to her knees, barely able to keep herself up. She hated to admit it, but... there was nothing she could do. She could only hope her teammate had actually heard her.

**_"You're not going to be able to do anything! I WON'T lose!"_ ** Shadow Fuyuko shrieked violently, in a frenzy of energy that Yuina had never heard out of her.  **_"I'm going to kill both of you! I'm going to make sure everything's better for Fuyuko! I'm going to - "_ **

_ CRASH! _

Shadow Fuyuko's screams abruptly turned into strangled choking. Just when Yuina thought she was going to pass out from the repeated, frantic attacks to her mind, the pain suddenly let up, though there was still an unbearable throbbing in her head. She weakly looked up to see a cracked hole in Shadow Fuyuko's throat, and a rock shortly in front of her. Carefully, she turned to see Saburo, who had also nearly collapsed onto the ground - but had his slingshot aimed directly at her.

Yuina turned towards the Shadow, seeing her struggling to speak. She slowly stood, raising her bat. "You're going to hell."

With the last of her strength, she sprinted towards Shadow Fuyuko as fast as her legs would carry her, swinging her bat in an upwards arc and smashing it straight into the wound Saburo had created. Shadow Fuyuko immediately froze in place - save for the cracks around Yuina's bat, which grew and grew like spiderwebs until her entire body went from pristinely put together to covered in chinks, the surrounding reflections all vanishing at once.

Then, Shadow Fuyuko's body shattered into pieces. Yuina glanced down in shock at the multitude of tiny glass bits before her, all of them staying in a neat little pile for a moment before dissolving into black goop, the surrounding big shards melting down with them. The Shadow's remains collected together, taking a far more human shape in an instant.

Yuina wiped her brow with relief as she observed Fuyuko before her. Before she let her guard down, she asked suspiciously, "... You're the real one, right?"

Fuyuko blinked slowly, looking up at her - with her normal dark green eyes, instead of the piercing yellow ones her Shadow had. "I dunno. Maybe you can pinch me or something to figure it out," she said in a casual tone, as if she hadn't just been possessed.

"I'll take your word for it." Yuina gave a relieved smile before her legs gave out underneath her, the weight of her exhaustion hitting her at once as she collapsed straight onto Fuyuko.

"Whoa there." Fuyuko nearly toppled over from the sudden weight on her, but she awkwardly managed to catch Yuina, gently setting her back. "You're already falling for me, huh? The things fighting a mirror monster will do to a person."

"Shut the... hell up," Yuina spat, though there was no actual venom behind it. Still, her tone changed to curious. "... You don't really seem, uh..."

She trailed off. Now that she had a closer look at Fuyuko, she could see something that she hadn't noticed before: tears streaming down her face. She wasn't even sobbing, they just seemed to be... coming out as she spoke, and while she occasionally did sniffle, she still had that relaxed smile on her face, almost like it was glued on. The sheer contrast was enough for her words to die in her throat.

"... Uh, never mind..." Yuina coughed, looking over her shoulder and waving one hand. "Saburo, get your ass over here."

"Little busy!" Yuina blinked, seeing Saburo clumsily scooting away from one of the mirrors on the far end of the room. She was about to ask what was going on until she spotted Shadow Fuyuko in the reflection, sitting with her back turned to the group. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be... sulking, hugging her knees to her chest.

The real Fuyuko stared at her Shadow for a few seconds before wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve. "Hey. Yuina. About what you said during that fight."

"... More specific?" Seeing as the Shadow didn't seem to be doing anything particularly threatening, Yuina decided to ignore it for now, looking back at her.

"You said things were gonna get better." Fuyuko tugged at her sleeve briefly. "Were you serious? Or just saying that to throw her off?"

Yuina sighed, looking down at the ground. "Yeah, I was serious. Believe me, if I had the kinda mental trickery she had, I wouldn't be in high school right now. I'm not good with words, but... I meant everything I said during that. Even the part about us being friends. If you wanna, uh... actually do that. I don't wanna - "

"We'll talk about it later." Fuyuko cut her off, her smile seeming to falter a bit. It didn't go away, but it looked more... natural as she stood up, leisurely making her way over to her Shadow. Almost like she was talking to a sibling, she had a seat in front of the mirror, crossing her legs. "Hey."

Shadow Fuyuko didn't turn around.  **_"You rejected my help. Why?"_ **

"You tried to kill people who were just trying to rescue me. Not exactly the kinda person I wanna get help from." Fuyuko's tone was surprisingly firm as she chided her Shadow, folding her hands on her lap. "But you were still trying. Honestly, I still feel kinda lost, but... that's probably nothing compared to what you're feeling. At least I've got some guys trying to help me out. Worst case scenario, you're left to rot."

That got Shadow Fuyuko to look over her shoulder carefully. She turned around, now matching her real counterpart's position.  **_"But... wouldn't you rather have them by your side? If I'm that violent?"_ **

"Hey, considering they smashed your throat with a rock and a bat, they're not exactly innocent either." Fuyuko playfully looked over her shoulder, amused at Yuina's sour expression and Saburo's sheepish one. She turned her attention back to her Shadow, reaching out with one hand and touching the glass. "... Point is, I can do both. Maybe I can share some of the things I learn with you. And we'll be worth something... together."

Shadow Fuyuko stayed still for a moment, before cracking a smile. She brought her hand out to touch Fuyuko's.  **_"... You're smarter than you give yourself credit for."_ **

Fuyuko gently closed her eyes as her reflection slowly dissipated into blue light, the Persona energy seeping out of the mirror and taking form. As it expanded into a tall-looking figure, Fuyuko turned around, opening her eyes to properly observe her new Persona.

Much to Yuina's relief, the new Persona was nowhere near as creepy-looking as Tristram - in fact, it was kind of cute. It was nowhere near as tall as it seemed - the Persona itself was simply a sleek blue cat covered in strange markings that looked like some sort of set of magical runes. The reason it had appeared tall was because it was standing atop a large pile of books, scraping one paw across one of the spines with a slight mew.

"Well, would you look at that?" Fuyuko whistled, slowly standing up.

_ "I am thou... thou art I. I am Merricat. Soon, we'll be together on the moon..." _ In an almost childlike voice, Merricat lifted her head before curling up on the books and closing its eyes. The Persona vanished seconds later - books and all, and a pink watch formed on her right wrist.

Satisfied, Fuyuko walked over to the two awestruck Persona users, folding her hands behind her back. "So, uh... not to rush you guys, but... can we get outta here? This place is probably gonna collapse sooner or later."

"Well - you're not even - don't you have any - " Saburo sputtered for a few seconds, as if his mind was trying to pick a question to decide on, before he finally settled on one, closing his mouth and raising one finger before speaking. "... How do you know that?"

Fuyuko shrugged. "Cause the one who created it is literally in my head."

Saburo paused for a moment, before looking over to Yuina. "She's cool."

"I know, right?" Yuina was extremely relieved Fuyuko didn't start bombarding them with questions, managing to get up. By this point, her pain had faded enough that she could reliably walk around. "Uh, we'll explain everything in a bit, but we should get outta here as soon as we can, like you said. Just hold the button on your new watch and we'll blip out pretty quickly... though you'll probably be somewhere else. Head over to Kaihaku Park when you can."

"Interdimensional watches... this is gonna be a trip, isn't it." Fuyuko chuckled as the three pressed down on their watches. After just a few seconds, they vanished from sight, not a single one of them noticing the figure peeking in from the entrance to the room. They watched where they stood for a moment longer before turning around, quietly speaking to themselves as they left.

"... These might be the people I've been looking for."


	17. Get It Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - Chapter 17 here, a nice little break from all the hectic fights with Shadows! Also, some time with our power trio. ;3 Hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 10 _

_ Evening _

With the way Yuina and Saburo were sitting on one end of a table in the park and Fuyuko on the other, on the outside looking in one could assume the two members of the Timekeepers were being interrogated. Nobody passed by, so there wasn't anyone to make that assumption, but if someone actually bothered to listen in to their story, they would be made privy to an entirely different scenario.

"... So, what do you guys even  _ do _ ?" Fuyuko rubbed her eyes sleepily. "I kinda got an idea of what was going on while that happened, but... always good to double-check and all that. It's a little hard to remember things when you've been trapped in a mirror for a few hours."

Saburo raised one hand. "We basically fight blob things with mind things in that dimension place."

Yuina blankly stared at him before looking back to Fuyuko. "... What he  _ means _ is we just go around fighting Shadows with our Personas. That cool cat you got after we rescued you? That's a Persona. We only started doing this recently, but... we have the power to stop Countdown victims from being, well. Victims." She scratched her head. "... If you've heard about anyone who has Countdown, they might be possessed by a Shadow by now. I don't know if there's any way to reverse it, but it's better we stop it from happening in the first place, right?"

"Mmmmmhm..." Fuyuko nodded slowly, closing her eyes in contemplation. Yuina was ready to smack her if she fell asleep again, but luckily, she didn't, still speaking in a mellow tone. "So you guys are basically undercover superheroes. Neat."

"Does that mean we need costumes?" Saburo tapped his chin.

Yuina resisted giggling at the mental image of Saburo in spandex and a cape. "That aside, uh... we did nearly get our butts kicked by your Shadow. Hate to admit it, but it seems like they're a lot stronger than I thought." She scratched her head, looking off to the side. "So, uh, not to force you into anything just cause you got - "

Fuyuko opened one eye. "Yeah, sure."

Yuina stopped in her tracks, staring at Fuyuko blankly. She coughed into her sleeve. "... Uh?"

"Sure, I'll help you guys." Fuyuko shrugged nonchalantly, stretching out her arms and sitting up in her chair. "Not much else I'm really doing."

Yuina was about to question her further, but after recalling her Shadow's words, she managed to shut herself up, closing her mouth. She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth... or make Fuyuko feel any more unappreciated. "... Right. Well, uh, welcome to the Timekeepers, or something." Not wanting things to be too formal, she took out her phone. "We've actually got a Chaos group, if you want me to add you. It'd probably be a lot easier for us to talk."

Fuyuko smirked, bringing out her own phone as well. "Yeah, I've got Chaos. Is this me basically getting your number?"

"Can you not be horny for one second?" Yuina grumbled, but nonetheless exchanged contact information with Fuyuko, glancing down at her username. "perpetuallytired", huh? She could relate to that. After adding her to the group, she put her phone away, sitting up straighter in her chair. "It's good to have you on the team. You'll be great."

Fuyuko's relaxed smile faltered, and she raised an eyebrow. Looking away, she murmured, "... Thanks."

Satisfied, Yuina folded her arms. "So, uh... is that it? Do we really need to talk about much else? We got a new teammate, everyone's not dead... I'd call this a win, right?"

Saburo coughed into his sleeve. "Well, there are a couple of other things I was thinking about. None of them undermine our victory, but it'd be best not to leave them unaddressed. The first one is something Shadow Fuyuko said to me when she was trying to give me that speech about being worthless or whatever."

Yuina and Fuyuko both snickered at his casual tone. Saburo glanced at them in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Yuina waved one hand dismissively. "Forget it. What'd she say?"

"She said something along the lines of, ah... she had stepped things up specifically because of Yuina's performance against my own Shadow." Saburo brought one hand to his chest cautiously. "The Shadows are more intelligent than we gave them credit for; they're aware of our accomplishments and are probably going to keep making challenges for us. We need to be a lot more cautious."

He gave a stern look towards Yuina, crossing his arms. "That would include not charging in all gung-ho when we're supposed to be a team."

"Hey, look, when you see someone running, your natural instinct is to chase them," Yuina retorted defiantly.

"If you're suicidal, maybe." Fuyuko didn't even flinch as Yuina's head snapped in her direction.

"Oh!" Saburo snapped his fingers. "That actually leads nicely into the other thing I wanted to talk about. I already explained this to Yuina, but... the short of it is, that person in the maze had a good chance of being someone else. I wanted to ask you about that." He pointed towards Fuyuko. "My memory's a bit hazy when I got possessed by my own Shadow, but I do remember a lot of what I was doing... so I figure it's worth a shot. When we first entered the mirror maze, do you remember what you were doing?"

Fuyuko rolled her head from one side to the other as she mulled over the question, pursing her lips before finally speaking. "Nothing special. I was pretty much just waiting for you guys. When Yuina came in all guns blazing, I just trapped her in the room; I wasn't running from her or anything, as far as I remember."

"Eureka!" Saburo grinned. "That means we've determined a  _ very _ important piece of information. There could be another Persona user out there... or, at the very least, someone else who has access to the Ticking Hell!"

"... Ticking Hell?" Fuyuko chuckled, slouching back in her chair. "Sounds like a game level."

"Hold up." Yuina decided to stop Saburo before he got too far into his theory, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "I'm not gonna say you're  _ wrong, _ cause I can definitely see where you're coming from. But you're kinda jumping to conclusions."

That did it. Saburo hesitated. "... Hmm. You're right."

"I mean, that thing I saw could've just been a Shadow. There are a couple humanoid ones out there other than Countdown ones, I bet - you were fighting some kinda knight guy, right?" Yuina glanced Fuyuko's way. "And no offense to you, but I don't really trust your memory right now. After a few days, maybe. Even if that wasn't Shadow Fuyuko herself, she messed with us left and right; that could've just been a hallucination or something to trap me in that room."

Fuyuko shrugged. "No offense taken. From what little I know about this stuff... she's got a point."

Noticing Saburo's dejected expression, Yuina pursed her lips. Reluctantly, she added, "... I mean, it's still possible. I'd say we should keep an eye out for any other Persona users while we're out and about. There's no real harm in it."

That was enough to placate her friend, and he nodded, straightening. "All right. If we find someone else, well... that's more manpower to us!"

Yuina leaned back in her chair. "Unless they wanna use Persona powers for shitty stuff. I can't imagine what some people at my old middle school would've done with a magic watch."

"Being a pessimist comes naturally, huh?" Fuyuko pursed her lips.

"It's what I'm good at." Yuina playfully punched Fuyuko in the shoulder, before sitting up. "Well... if none of you guys have anything to add, then I guess we're done here. Good to have a new person on the team. Obviously, if any of you guys hear about someone with Countdown, we'll talk over it and find a good time to meet up. Sound good?"

Her teammates both nodded. With a grin, Yuina stood up. "Looking forward to fighting Shadows with you guys."

**~~ RANK UP! - FOOL ARCANA: THE TIMEKEEPERS ~~**

At this point, Yuina was ready to turn and leave, but before she could so much as take a step, she heard a rumbling sound out of the corner of her ear. She hurriedly whipped to Fuyuko, seeing her glancing down at her stomach. "Guess I haven't eaten for a while, huh."

"You'd think your Shadow would've at least gotten dinner," Saburo mused.

Yuina stared at Fuyuko for a few more seconds before something clicked in her head. "... Hey, actually. If you guys wanna stay together for a bit longer, I've got a friend who's a great cook. I've been meaning to introduce you to her." She pointed towards Saburo briefly, before turning her attention to Fuyuko. "She's the one who, uh... got me to talk to you on my first day of school, actually."

"Really? Ain't that neat." Fuyuko whistled, leisurely getting to her feet. "Is she cute?"

"Oh my god." Yuina buried her face in her hands. "Look, she's already gonna be cooking for you. If you make one suggestive comment I'm using your head for a home run."

  
"She  _ is _ cute, then. Got it." Unfazed, Fuyuko grinned. "Hope you guys won't mind me having most of the portions. I go all in on meals."


	18. Wicked Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I know I missed a chapter this Wednesday, but there WILL be one next Wednesday, I can promise that - I wanted to get back to the "normal" schedule, so to speak. I hope you enjoy some more Saburo and Yuina shenanigans... and some more Kanako next chapter!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 11 _

_ After School _

It was weird hanging out with someone who  _ wasn't _ Kanako on a semi-regular basis, but Yuina couldn't really complain. She had initially wanted to talk to Fuyuko a bit, but given how she was still presumably recovering from getting possessed by a mirror demon, she hadn't responded to Yuina's curious texts over Chaos. So instead, Yuina fell back on the next person available, and much to her relief, Saburo had been quick to pick up. Sure, she could always hang out with Kanako, but she didn't want to  _ rely _ on her anymore.

... Besides, she and Kanako were going to meet up tomorrow. It'd be a little awkward to ask her to hang out  _ more _ now... even if she probably wouldn't mind.

Yuina shook herself out of thinking about her best friend, leaning back on the couch as she waited for his arrival. Both of her parents were still at work, so she and Saburo had a bit to talk... and she had taken the opportunity to let Hyou out of the kitchen, so long as she kept an eye on him. The cat hadn't done much in the way of roaming, instead curling up on the couch next to Yuina and occasionally nuzzling into her hand, which she happily returned with a scratch behind the ears.

A knock on the door interrupted Hyou's content position, and his head jolted up in surprise as he stared wide-eyed at the door. Not wanting to risk disturbing him, Yuina called towards the door, "It's open."

Her visitor fumbled with the doorknob a bit before stepping inside - sure enough, it was Saburo. He adjusted his coat as he closed the door behind himself, looking at Yuina in surprise. "Do you really leave your door unlocked?"

"I knew you were coming and I'd beat the shit out of any robbers." Yuina shrugged, pointing down at Hyou. "I would've answered the door myself, but."

Saburo's eyes locked onto the cat. Slowly, he approached, being careful not to make any sudden movements as he stepped around the table before delicately taking a seat next to Hyou. He hadn't looked away from Saburo ever since he had entered, not even blinking. Saburo raised one hand a little hesitantly. "Can I, uh - "

"Go ahead. Hyou's friendly," Yuina encouraged.

Saburo held his hand out for a second longer like he was afraid Hyou was gonna bite him, before grunting and reaching out to pet him. Hyou purred softly at the touch, his intense focus finally dropping as he rubbed up against Saburo's hand. Yuina joined in and gently rubbed his belly, feeling a grin come onto her face as Hyou rolled onto his back, pressing his paws up against his chest.

"I wish I had a pet," Saburo mused, still petting Hyou's head. "How long have you had him?"

"We got him a bit after I moved here, so... four-ish years." Yuina chuckled softly as Hyou rolled around a bit on the couch. "Mom and I had to beg Dad for a cat for a few months straight before we eventually got him for Christmas. Dad won't admit it, but he's warmed up to him a lot."

Saburo crossed his arms. "I liked your dad, but he'd be a real monster if he didn't appreciate cats."

"No kidding." Yuina rubbed Hyou's belly for a moment longer before lifting her hand, letting him sit there for a moment. She turned her attention to Saburo, a more serious topic crossing her mind - while this was meant for a casual hangout, given the plans the two had made, she  _ did _ want to make some sort of follow-up. "So, uh... about that Shadow we were planning to take down. The one that, y'know..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Saburo nodded slowly, his expression turning more solemn. "What about it?"   
  


Yuina decided to start simple, absentmindedly petting her cat a little more. "Well, you said you caught a glimpse of it, right? Could you tell me a little more about it? If, uh... if you want."

"It's fine. I can. I didn't see  _ much, _ but... I remember seeing part of it for a split second when my sister came back." Saburo shook his head. "It's not enough for a clear picture of the full thing, not even close... but I saw blood on it. Lots of blood, on a black body. That's really all I could get from it."

Yuina nodded, though something clicked in her brain. This didn't seem right. She raised one hand. "... I'm not saying you're lying or anything, but doesn't that go against what we know about Shadows and time in their place?" she pointed out. "Both of our dimensions are completely separate, and you weren't a Persona user or anything at the time. How'd you see the Shadow if that was the case?"

Saburo stared at her like she had just started speaking a foreign language. Slowly, he looked down at his lap. "... I never thought of that. Huh."

"It's something to think about. Either we don't know as much about the Ticking Hell as we thought, or whatever Shadow we're looking for is strong enough to go cross-dimensional. Even if it's just for a second." Yuina idly tapped her boot against the floor. "So it's gotta be at least as strong as a Countdown Shadow if it can do that. Hell, it could be one for all we know."

Saburo nodded, rubbing his chin. "Right, that's all good to think about. But the last thing I can tell you about it is... the aura it gave off."

"The  _ aura? _ " Yuina raised an eyebrow. Sure, he had mentioned this last time, but she wasn't exactly the intuitive type. "Like, a power aura, or just a general feeling it gave you?"

"More of a general feeling. Most Shadows don't really give off anything like that, but... just seeing it for a second was enough to make me feel this chilling sensation. And it wasn't just because it killed my sister." Saburo's eyes narrowed. "It felt like it just gave off this air of... malice and death. If there were other Persona users out there - which there almost certainly have been - I get the feeling my sister was far from this Shadow's first victim."

Hmm. Yuina went over the facts in her head one more time. So the Shadow was covered in blood... which wasn't exactly the best piece of information considering it had beaten his sister to a pulp. Of  _ course _ it'd have blood on it. Furthermore, the Shadow was on the level of a Countdown shadow, which wasn't great for them, but... they had beaten two of those, so it didn't mean things were over just yet. And finally, the Shadow was bad and killed people.  _ Extremely _ helpful info, there.

Still, despite their sparse information, she looked back up to Saburo, determination shining in her eyes. "I think we gotta set a date to go look for it."

"This soon?" Saburo's eyes widened. "Well, uh - I mean, we  _ can, _ I don't really mind or anything, it's just... I didn't expect, well, us to go straight after it. Don't we have more important priorities?"

"Do we really, though?" Yuina shrugged. "It's not like we can use real-world time as an excuse, considering time  _ literally _ stops. And there are no Countdown Shadows to go after, as far as we know. Like, might as well knock it out now." She paused for a moment, thinking back to their newest teammate. "Do we wanna invite Fuyuko, or - "

"I'd rather not," Saburo cut in, shaking his head. "Nothing against her, but... not only does she have no idea how to fight Shadows just yet, but she doesn't know about, erm. This whole thing. I'd rather keep that just between the two of us for now."

Yuina nodded in understanding. If she was in his position, she knew she'd probably wanna keep that under wraps from any new people. "I think we can take it. I'll text you later with a date depending on how my school schedule looks, okay? I've started getting a couple big projects, so... I do have to set some time aside for those. And I wanna hang out with Kanako for a bit."

"Oh, of course!" Saburo grinned. "We gotta meet up with her again sometime. Her meal was just  _ fantastic. _ "

"Oh yeah. She's one of the best cooks I know. Don't tell Mom I said that, though." Yuina chuckled, offering one hand to Saburo for a handshake. "So, we gonna kick that Shadow's ass?"

Saburo glanced at her hand before firmly grasping it, nodding. "We sure will." The two shook hands firmly, nodding to each other.

**~~ RANK UP! - STAR ARCANA: SABURO SASAKI ~~**

Yuina pulled away, straightening in her seat. "... Well, I don't wanna shoo you out, but you should probably get going before my parents get home. If I start bringing a guy home regularly without telling them they're gonna assume I've snatched up a boyfriend."

"I'll, uh, consider myself lucky that my mother doesn't seem to realize that." Saburo gave her a hasty salute before getting up. Before he could start walking away, Hyou meowed at him, and he hesitated, looking down at the cat.

Yuina patted Hyou on the head gently, scratching his ears. "Don't worry, buddy, he'll be back."

Saburo seemed extremely reluctant to tear himself away from Hyou's attentive gaze, but managed to give him a thumbs-up. "... Yeah, what she said. I'll be sure to, uh... bring you some cat treats or something. I'll pay a visit to the shop." He smiled a bit awkwardly, leaning over to pet Hyou one more time before turning and sprinting out the door.

Yuina smirked, petting her cat a bit more. "... He's a dork, isn't he?"

Hyou purred in what she could only assume was agreement.


	19. Waiting On A Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - here's a character that I think we really needed to check up on. X3 I hope you enjoy!  
> Also, fun fact: If this was a game, Kanako's SL would start at 5 already.  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 12th _

_ Afternoon _

"It's been a while since we've hung out together, huh?"

Normally, that sentence from Kanako would've gotten Yuina to clam up, start making excuses, deflect the conversation, or in the absolute worst case scenario, all three. Luckily, seeing the teasing look on her face was enough to ease her worries, and she smirked, leaning back against the pillows on her bed. "That's what fighting supernatural crap does to you. Eats up your free time."

"Even though time stops when you use the watch?" Kanako jokingly pouted, looking around Yuina's room. "... I hope you're okay. I bet things get intense..."

"Yeah. It's kinda freaky, but... no bones broken, so I'll take that as a win." Yuina shrugged, her mind reflecting on the recent fight with Shadow Fuyuko. "Honestly, smaller Shadows aren't that big of a deal. It's the big guys that are tough."

Kanako nodded in understanding. "You're lucky you have a team. I just wish I had a Persona so I could make sure you don't do anything reckless."

"Reckless is my middle name, y'know." Yuina snorted, punching Kanako's arm playfully. As she settled into a more relaxed position, she couldn't help but look towards the ceiling, savoring the distinct feeling of contentment that she always felt when hanging out with her best friend. No need to worry about weird quirks, exams, or her responsibilities; just her and someone she could talk about pretty much  _ anything _ to.

... That said, even though her comment about not hanging out earlier had been a joke, it still stung just a little. Yuina took a deep breath. "... So, uh, I think this is long overdue, but... you wanna hear a bit about what I've been up to?"

Kanako's eyes lit up with surprise. "Oh, uh... sure! I'm not sure if I'll really get all of it, but... I'm always happy to listen!"

"Don't worry, there's not much to get." Yuina went over the events in her head, thinking on what to tell Kanako first. Deciding to start from the obvious, she cocked her head to one side. "So, uh... Saburo and Fuyuko? It's great they're Persona users now, but... I had to fight those big guys I was talking about to get to 'em. If I'm being honest, they almost killed me both times."

Kanako bit her lip, avoiding eye contact. Yuina was ready to be chided almost as hard as her mom would probably scold her over this, but much to her relief, the only words that left her friend's mouth were a reluctant "I'm glad you made it out alright."

"Yeah. I'll, uh... try to be a little more careful. Especially since we've got someone new." Yuina spun around on her bed, lying back next to Kanako. "Sure, if I die, that kinda sucks. But if Fuyuko dies, well... that's kinda on me, considering she's a newbie. Saburo knows how to fight Shadows - dude's seriously wicked with a slingshot. But as far as I know, Fuyuko hasn't even looked at one of them funny. Here's hoping she can pick things up quickly."

That response was enough to placate Kanako. "Heh. I think she'll do great; she seemed, um..." She trailed off. "... enthusiastic?"

"No, that was because you cooked for her." Yuina rolled her eyes, remembering the dinner celebration they had after their most recent outing. "Seriously, I never thought I'd see someone with a bigger appetite than my cat."

"Maybe she can eat a Shadow or something." Kanako shrugged.

Yuina's head practically snapped up to look at her friend. Slowly, she asked, "... Was that  _ sarcasm _ I just heard from your mouth?"

"Well, I'm hanging around you, right?" Kanako giggled.

Yuina opened her mouth and raised one finger, ready to protest, only to catch herself. "... Touche." She lowered her hand, returning to her lazy sprawled out position. "Anyhow... the big Shadows are freaky as shit. They look like something from some kinda high-budget horror movie, except they can actually kill you. Like, we're talking giant flesh spiders and mirror panthers."

Kanako tilted her head, looking deep in thought. "... A mirror panther, just to be clear, is - "

"A panther made of a bunch of pieces of a mirror. That was what Shadow Fuyuko turned into. She had a buncha weapons for tails, too." Yuina was almost tempted to reach for her bat, but she was too comfortable lying back next to Kanako. "I mean, she was still made of glass, so she went down pretty quickly, but she didn't make it easy for us. One wrong move and she would've fucked us up six ways from Sunday."

Kanako nodded, exhaling sharply as she mulled over Yuina's words. A slightly mischievous smile came onto her face. "If I had a Persona, do you think I'd be a good teammate?"

"Hell no." Yuina responded with zero hesitation, smirking back. "You'd probably apologize after hitting a Shadow too hard."

The two of them shared a laugh, before Yuina settled, folding her hands across her stomach. She looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. "For real, though... if you had a Persona, I bet it'd be wicked cool. Like, some giant librarian that smacks Shadows around with those giant encyclopedias or something. Or some kinda dryad thing."

"Why not both?" Kanako suggested, planting her hands on the bed and leaning back. "A dryad librarian."

Yuina blinked, taking a second to process what her friend had said. "... Kanako, you're a genius."

Kanako giggled, scooting upwards slightly. "I don't think this Shadow stuff is really for me, but... it's fun to hypothesize about if nothing else." She pursed her lips. "... Though, uh, I did think about something that I figured I could bring up."

Yuina turned her full attention towards her best friend, properly sitting up on the bed. This sounded kinda serious. "I'm all ears."

"I, umm... I know I don't really have any powers. And I don't want to treat you like a kid; I know you can handle yourself, even if I'm worried. But..." Kanako rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "I  _ do _ want to help. I dunno how I can, but... I know about everything you've told me, and I think maybe I can help you guys somehow, even if it's not directly. It's just... you're doing something really important, and I want to make things easier for you however I can, even if it's just a little."

That  _ was _ kind of a big request. Yuina wasn't going to take Kanako into the Ticking Hell at all, that was for sure... but Kanako's pleading expression was hard to say no to. Still, she couldn't really think of anything for her to help the team...

... Well,  _ she _ couldn't, but...

"Tell you what." Yuina whipped out her phone from her pocket, opening up Chaos. "We have a group chat for our team. I'll, uh... I'll pop you in there. I'm not really the smart person here, but I bet my teammates would definitely come up with good ways for you to help."

Kanako reluctantly took out her phone. "Are you sure they won't mind?"

"Saburo's too nice and Fuyuko's too horny. Believe me, they won't mind." Yuina rolled her eyes, smirking. "Besides, if they did, they'd be next on my home-run list." She sent the invite to Kanako, flipping to the server as she watched the messages pop up.

[4/12 2:23 PM] ThirdBass: hey, guys, kanako's in the server. be nice or i'll smack you.

[4/12 2:24 PM] perpetuallytired: neat

[4/12 2:25 PM] time-crasher: Good to have you here

[4/12 2:26 PM] time-crasher: Wait, did you get a Persona

[4/12 2:26 PM] GentleGarden: Hi, everyone! No, i don't have a Persona, but I want to help you guys somehow.

[4/12 2:28 PM] perpetuallytired: moral support

[4/12 2:29 PM] perpetuallytired: actually uh i could use a weapon or something i guess

[4/12 2:29 PM] ThirdBass: wanna help her find something? doesn't have to be anything fancy. i use a baseball bat, so

[4/12 2:30 PM] GentleGarden: Oh, yeah, we can meet tomorrow for it!

[4/12 2:31 PM] ThirdBass: don't try anything funny, fuyuko

[4/12 2:32 PM] perpetuallytired: no promises

Satisfied, Yuina slipped her phone back in her pocket. "See? Told you they'd be fine with you around. And, well... honestly, things are probably gonna be better on my end." With a grin, she elbowed Kanako. "I've got my best friend by my side now. What more could I ask for?"

Kanako giggled, smiling shyly. "Anything to make it less likely for you to get yourself killed." Once again, both of them burst into laughter.

**~~ RANK UP! - HANGED MAN ARCANA: KANAKO INOUE ~~**

As the girls settled down, Yuina stretched, arching her back outwards. "Welp, I'm getting kinda bored. It's great talking with you, but... we should probably actually go do something. How about we pop over to the arcade?"

"You have money for that?" Kanako raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, but Mom might. You'll have to ask, cause she's way less likely to say no to you." Yuina felt distinct satisfaction at Kanako's amused giggling, hopping off her bed. "C'mon."


	20. Search and Destroy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Here's some old faces in the spotlight for our newest chapter. Hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 14th _

_ Lunchtime _

After being in school for a couple weeks, Yuina figured she had finally started making a name for herself. Her brief freakout in class over Countdown had been forgotten surprisingly quickly in favor of other things like her tendency to threaten people with her bat, her friendship with Kanako, and her surprising engagement in certain classes. It was enough that she could tolerate going to school regularly now, which was a relief.

Some things, however, never changed. As Yuina rounded the corner of a hallway, she caught sight of an immediately distressing situation in the distance. That girl she had met with Shouhei earlier - Haruna, she thought - was practically whimpering against one of the lockers, a pair of guys sneering at her. "You gonna cry?" one of them taunted, taking a step forward and causing Haruna to jolt.

"P-Please, I... I know I'm tall and freaky, but - " Haruna sputtered, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

Well, it looked like it was her job to deal with these shitheads. Yuina started towards them, hand tightening around her bat, but before she could put a stop to anything, she caught someone else approaching at a far more leisurely pace. Rather than relaxing, her eyes narrowed as she registered just  _ who _ it was. 

"Am I interrupting something?" Taiki's voice was polite as ever as he bowed towards the bullies.

"Shit, it's him!" One of the boys panicked, turning tail and sprinting past Yuina at blazing speed. Part of her was tempted to trip him, but she was focused enough on Taiki that she didn't move; in fact, if looks could kill, she'd probably be charged for murder with how she was glaring at Taiki.

If he saw her, he didn't show it, simply smiling up at the other boy - who was just staring at him in confusion. "Well, that was slightly awkward, wasn't it?"

"... You're that weird first year." The remaining boy didn't seem nearly as frightened, just crossing his arms skeptically. "What the hell is up with you?"

"I think you should ask yourself the same question." Taiki's response was pleasant as ever as he looked up at the bully without even flinching. "Making fun of people who won't defend themselves... people like you are  _ special. _ " His smile didn't waver in the slightest. "Hiroto Kitagawa, right?"

"Uh... yeah...? Dude, mind your own business..." Unnerved, the boy - Hiroto, apparently - started backing up. Haruna wiped her tears with her sleeve, looking over to where he was walking - and glancing at Yuina in surprise. Yuina didn't really register her presence, still hyper-focused on Taiki.

Taiki idly brushed some hair out of his face. "You should really learn to take your own advice. Maybe this is your way of forgetting that you'll never amount to anything close to your parents?" He chuckled softly, lacing both hands behind his back. "Admirable attempt, but it doesn't really change the cold, hard truth."

That comment was enough to get Hiroto to flinch. "H-Hey, how do you - "

"I heard about you picking on another student and asked around. It was easy enough to get some dirt on you." Taiki shrugged. "Maybe if you actually did anything that wasn't childish or pathetic, you'd be half as successful as you'd like to be."

Hiroto took another step back before running - now  _ he _ looked like he was about to cry. Once again, Yuina didn't even glance his way, still staring intensely at Taiki. Only then did he meet her gaze, eyes lighting up. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think you'd see that."

"... You're lucky I'm in a good mood." Yuina planted her bat into the ground firmly.

"Otherwise you'd get another trip to the office, I assume." Taiki turned around, chuckling once more. "Were you going to speak with Haruna? Please, don't mind me."

Before Yuina could spit an insult or comeback, he made his way down the hall. Agitated, she slammed her bat into the locker behind her. "I fucking  _ hate _ him." She was about ready to smash another locker just to get the anger out of her system, but catching sight of Haruna backing away in fear caused her to freeze up. She took a deep breath, before slowly exhaling, letting her tension fade.  _ He's not worth it... _

"Uh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Yuina forced an awkward grin onto her face, hiding her bat behind her back. "Haruna, right?"

Thankfully, Haruna's expression visibly softened as she saw Yuina meant no harm. "Um, yeah. And you're Yuina... I think?"

"Mhm. Sorry you had to deal with those guys. Shitheads like them will look for any excuse to mess with someone." Yuina scoffed, returning to a more relaxed stance. "Not like Taiki's any better, though."

"Yeah..." In what looked like the most halfhearted attempt at anger Yuina had ever seen from a person, Haruna pouted, crossing both arms. "He's even more of a jerk than the people he drives off."

"Don't worry about him. You're pretty alright, from what I've seen." Even though the two barely knew each other, Yuina felt a smirk come onto her face at seeing Haruna's face practically glow from the praise. At the same time, though, it made her just a bit uncomfortable. How often did she get compliments? "Besides that, uh... how're you doing?"

Haruna beamed, looking a lot more comfortable. "Well, um... I'm doing pretty well, actually. Other than those two, I've had a good day so far... what about you?"

Yuina shrugged, fiddling with her watch out of habit. "Eh. Could be worse. Kanako and I have been chilling out for a bit." Now that the tension had been defused, an idea came to her. Haruna seemed like a common target for bullies, but she didn't want Taiki to keep coming to her rescue, especially since she seemed just as annoyed by his antics. "Hey, uh... this might seem a little sudden, but..." She flipped her phone out from her pocket. "Wanna exchange phone numbers?"

Haruna blinked in surprise. "U-Umm? I mean... sure? But... what for?"

"Two reasons. One, I feel like you need a friend before you start crying yourself to sleep every night." Yuina held out her phone, relieved at Haruna not starting to tear up at that comment. "Two, if people start messing with you again, just shoot me a text and I'll be on my way. Ideally, I won't even need to smack 'em around, but people tend to back off when I raise my bat." She flashed a grin. "Deal?"

Haruna blinked slowly, before taking out her own phone. "Sure. Yeah, we can do that." She still sounded a little uncertain, but nonetheless traded phone numbers with Yuina. "Just... don't hurt them too badly if you can help it, okay?"

"No promises." Yuina chuckled, taking a step back. "I don't wanna bother you too much, so you can go on your way. Maybe talk to Shouhei or something," she joked.

Haruna's face lit up. "Oh! I haven't talked to Shouhei yet today." Yuina immediately regretted bringing him up, practically able to see the hearts in her eyes. "If you see him, um... can you tell him I wanted to talk?"

Yuina was about to make some sort of snippy comment before ultimately resigning herself to being the messenger here, but she caught sight of someone walking at the end of the hall. There was no mistaking that outfit. "Why do that when he's right there?" She pointed stiffly towards where she had seen him. "He just walked by. Go say hi or something."

"Oh!" Haruna eagerly whipped around and started jogging down the hall. Rolling her eyes, Yuina took out her phone, flipping through the new messages - as far as she could tell, their conversation probably wasn't one she wanted to interrupt. Seeing a direct message on Chaos, she raised an eyebrow.

[4/14 12:44 PM] perpetuallytired: sup

[4/14 12:46 PM] ThirdBass: not much, just finished talking with someone

[4/14 12:46 PM] ThirdBass: you?

[4/14 12:47 PM] perpetuallytired: same actually

[4/14 12:48 PM] perpetuallytired: met some rando online and they turned out to be viperess255

That name caught Yuina's attention. Hadn't she heard that somewhere before? Raising an eyebrow, she typed a bit more.

[4/14 12:48 PM] ThirdBass: isn't that the trolling lady?

[4/14 12:49 PM] perpetuallytired: yeah but she called me out on things we already talked about during the whole shadow business

[4/14 12:50 PM] perpetuallytired: she got annoyed when i didn't give her a funny reaction and blocked me lol

Right. Yuina couldn't resist snickering at the mental image - for once, she was grateful for Fuyuko's complete passive state. She was already probably fragile enough after all of those Shadow events... actually, as those came to mind, another idea popped in her head, and she carefully typed to Fuyuko once more.

[4/14 12:51 PM] ThirdBass: on a lighter note, did you wanna meet tomorrow? after school, just the two of us

[4/14 12:52 PM] ThirdBass: if you make one suggestive comment i'm whacking you with the bat.

[4/14 12:53 PM] perpetuallytired: lmao

[4/14 12:53 PM] perpetuallytired: yeah sure, i'll meet you by the school gates

Okay. This was what she should do as a friend, right? Make sure that her other friends were doing okay and all that. Yuina stuffed her phone back into her pocket, deciding just to head for her next class in advance. Lunch was going to end in around two minutes, so there was no reason to stick around and try to squeeze time out of it. She made her way down the hall, idly peeking towards Shouhei and Haruna chatting as she passed them - only to stop as she overheard their conversation.

"This really is our last year, huh?" Shouhei leaned against one of the lockers, crossing his arms. "I've already got a college lined up offering to give me a free ride, so I'll be out of here pretty quickly after the school year ends."

"Wow..." Yuina couldn't make out Haruna's expression from behind, but she could easily imagine the stars in her eyes. "Yeah, um. I guess it is. We'll keep in touch, right? I know a lot of people probably ask you to, but..."

Shouhei frowned, looking off to the side. "... Of course. You're my friend." Despite his uncertainty, the smile he offered Haruna was genuine. "Nothing's gonna change that."

"Are you sure?" Haruna took a step closer. "You just seem, um... different, is all."

"Positive. Trust me, it's got nothing to do with you; you're still just as cute." Shouhei tipped his hat, smirking at Haruna presumably blushing - only to catch sight of Yuina, looking at her questioningly. "... May I help you?"

"Not really. Just passing by." Yuina shamelessly made a barfing face. "Between you and Fuyuko, I'm not sure who's hornier."

"Depends on the day." Shouhei shrugged nonchalantly, visibly relaxing - right on cue, the bell rang. He straightened, doing a little spin. "Well, looks like we've got classes to worry about. Catch you two later."

"See you, Shouhei!" Haruna waved to Shouhei before turning around and making her way off to her own class. 

  
Yuina scowled at the fact that Haruna was obviously giggling, twirling her bat around.  _ Can anyone control themselves around here? _ Still, she decided not to give it too much thought, and made her way to her own class. Whatever they were talking about, it probably wasn't her problem.


	21. New Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, new chapter! In advance, there may not be a chapter next or the following Wednesday, as I'm on the Shadow chapters and those take a lot longer to write - plus, college started, so there's also that. Hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 15th _

_ After School _

Out of all the things to trouble Yuina when setting up a meeting with Fuyuko, it hadn't been how to talk with her, nor how to get her easily integrated into the Persona fighting stuff. No, what she had spent a while deliberating on was  _ where _ they should meet. Either of their houses were out, because that was just begging Fuyuko to say something about inviting a cute girl over or whatever, but just walking around town didn't seem right either, considering Fuyuko was a low energy sort of girl. Luckily, after her last period, she had a location in mind as she approached the school gates. With the pink she wore and her relaxed stance, Fuyuko was unmistakable.

"I'm surprised you got here before me." Yuina smirked, adjusting her backpack.

"I can do things on time when I want to." Fuyuko shrugged, arching her back out and raising both hands above her head. With a big yawn, she rolled her shoulders before lowering her hands. "So, where we goin'?"

Yuina silently gave herself a high-five for bothering to come up with an answer to this in advance. Without missing a beat, she stated, "There's an alley in town that'd be a good place to talk. C'mon."

Fuyuko stared blankly at her for a few seconds. When it was clear she wasn't joking, she sighed, shaking her head in amusement. "You really went out of your way to pick a place I couldn't make any kinda joke about, huh?"

"Guilty." Yuina took the lead, stepping out of the school gates and making sure to walk at a slow pace. Fuyuko kept up with her rather easily; despite the reluctant look on her face, she seemed willing to go along, which was all Yuina really needed. To help ease her mind a bit, she tossed out a simple question. "So, uh... how've you been getting along with the others?"   
  


"They're alright." Fuyuko hummed to herself as she walked. "Saburo's pretty silly. He tried to explain the whole Persona business to me, but half of it came out as a weird metaphor that he had to start over midway through. He'll be great when we're actually fighting stuff, I'm sure. He was pretty wicked with that slingshot." She brought one hand to her chin. "And Kanako... she's chill. She was super nice about getting a weapon and stuff. I thought it'd be a little weird that you two were friends, but... after talking with her, it makes sense."

At the mention of Kanako, Yuina couldn't resist smiling. "Kanako's the best. She's saved me from doing a lot of stupid stuff." The two stopped to let a car pass by, before crossing the street. "Uh, did you guys pick out a weapon?"

"Sure did. I haven't got it yet, but I'm gonna have a naginata by Friday." Fuyuko clasped her hands in front of herself. "There's a nice dojo near that I train at sometimes. Can't promise I'll be any good with it, but I've got Merricat to cover me in case I miss with it." She fiddled with her watch. "Do I get two Personas too, or do I just have the cat? Cause I'm cool either way."

Yuina snorted. "That's a me thing, from what I can tell. Sooo, you've only got your cat to worry about." Still, Fuyuko talking about this caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Naginatas, huh? I can't really say I expected you to train with those. I mean, that's fine, it's just... I didn't see you as the kinda person to train with weapons and all that."

Fuyuko's calm expression wavered for just a moment. "... Yeah. My parents suggested it to me, and I kinda liked it." Yuina caught just a hint of bitterness in her tone before it disappeared. "The sensei at the dojo was alright and seemed to like me, so... couldn't really say no. We don't have regular lessons or anything, but I pop in whenever I'm feeling it and he teaches me whatever I wanna know."

Deciding to ignore the brief faltering of Fuyuko's relaxed facade, Yuina couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Sure, Fuyuko probably had hobbies, but after meeting her and seeing her Shadow... she hadn't been expecting something like that. As lazy as she seemed, Fuyuko did still have things she legitimately enjoyed... maybe she could capitalize on that.

Before she could continue the conversation, though, something caught her eye - a few trash cans laid out in front of an alley. Perfect. "Here, this way." She waved one hand towards Fuyuko. "This is, uh... this is somewhere I like to chill out when I'm in a bad mood. People don't really go here, so..."

"Made yourself a home in the alley, huh?" Fuyuko whistled, stepping in behind her. "Let's have a look-see."

Yuina was relieved no one really came in here. The place sure looked like a magnet for gang activity - which was probably exactly why people avoided it; Okabe didn't really have a high crime rate, but this alley gave off the impression that someone dangerous lived here. From the graffiti lining the walls, to the used and slightly torn couch at the back, to even the assorted baseballs on the ground. It wasn't much, but it was a place where Yuina didn't really have to worry about getting disturbed.

She didn't bother to ask Fuyuko what she thought. It wasn't luxurious, and it wasn't meant to be - plus, she didn't really give a damn what people thought about her impromptu hideout. She took a seat against the couch, crossing her legs. "You can sit if you want. I don't really care."

Fuyuko hesitated, pursing her lips. "Did you get that couch from a Dumpster or something?"

Yuina didn't respond with anything other than a smirk. Fuyuko stared for a few more seconds before shrugging and taking a seat next to her, leaning back in a sprawled out position. "... Interesting place, I'll say that. Visit here frequently?"

"Thankfully, no. It's just when I need some alone time. My parents don't know about this place, mostly cause I tell them I'm visiting the park or some bullshit like that." Yuina waved a hand dismissively. "I basically come here once every month or so."

There it was again. At the mention of Yuina's parents, Fuyuko stiffened slightly. Yuina wasn't really sure if this was a safe button to press, but... she didn't want to hog the conversation all to herself. She asked in the most friendly tone she could muster, "What are your parents like?"

Thankfully, Fuyuko didn't freak out, though she did take a deep breath. "... They're alright. Hard workers and all that."

"Right." Yuina waited for her to say more, but... it looked like that was all she wanted to say. Deciding this was probably not a topic to continue on, she hurriedly changed the subject. "Uhhhh... there is actually something I was thinking about. It's, uh... I'm not trying to get on your case, it's just something that kinda surprised me. It's a little serious, but not  _ that _ serious. Don't take it too personally."

"Yeesh, how many excuses are you gonna preface this with?" Fuyuko's mood seemed back to normal, accompanied by her usual chuckle. "Just say it. I don't bite... unless asked, anyhow."

Ignoring that little comment, Yuina looked down at Fuyuko's watch. "So I know you joined our team, and... that's great and all. I'm really happy to have you here, and I bet Kanako and Saburo are too. But I was just thinking... you kinda accepted things without a second thought. This is some serious high-energy stuff, and... I don't want you to feel like you gotta join us just because you have a Persona. If you wanna live a normal life, I ain't gonna fault you for that. So I guess my question is..."

She exhaled slowly. "... Why, exactly, did you decide to join us?"

Fuyuko mulled over the question, head tilting to one side, then the other. She folded her hands on her lap, tapping one of her shoes against the asphalt beneath, before finally speaking. "... Couple reasons."

Yuina nodded, straightening in her seat. "I'm all ears."

Fuyuko raised one finger. "First off... you know what it felt like when I was with my Shadow? It felt like hell." She said it matter-of-factly, her tone devoid of emotion. "Constantly telling me that I couldn't amount to anything on my own and that she'd help me make something of myself. It didn't take long for me to say yes, and honestly, if you guys hadn't shown up, I wouldn't really have cared. At least I'd feel like something was different."

Her calm smile returned. "... But you guys did come along. Said I meant something. And I feel like I should prove it. That ties into reason two..." She raised another finger. "This one's a lot simpler. I wanna help people. Knowing how bad that was, well... knowing it's happening all around isn't something I wanna carry with me, especially since I can do something about it."

That was... the farthest away from the response Yuina had expected. Fuyuko was surprising her in all manner of ways today. "... I'm glad we could help you feel better about yourself. Nobody deserves to feel worthless." She nodded seriously. "... If that's your decision, then I appreciate it. Good to have you on board, Fuyuko."

"Good to be here." Fuyuko returned the gesture with a polite nod of her own.

_ I am thou... thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond... _

_ You will inspire change within each other... _

_ Thou shalt be blessed when making Personas of the High Priestess Arcana... _

**~~ RANK UP! - HIGH PRIESTESS ARCANA: FUYUKO MIKI ~~**

Satisfied with how the conversation went, Yuina stood up slowly, dusting off her clothes. "... Well, uh, it's good to hear you're doing okay. I should probably head home before my parents start wondering where I am." She slung her backpack over her shoulders. "Sorry for cutting things short."

"Nah, I totally get it. Hope you don't mind if I rest here for a bit. We've kinda been walking for a while." Fuyuko yawned, covering her mouth.

_ Have we really? _ Despite her skepticism, Yuina couldn't bring herself to say no, simply waving as she walked away. "Knock yourself out."

"That's the plan." Fuyuko sluggishly waved back. "Don't be a stranger, m'kay?"


	22. Fools In Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Another new chapter out. For now, I'm gonna be skipping Wednesdays, because college has started and I'd like to adjust to that. I'll publish something on Wednesdays if I feel like it, though. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 17 _

_ After School _

Yuina probably should have suspected something was up when she didn't see Shouhei anywhere around school. Sure, she didn't know him that well, but given how many girls he probably had on speed dial, she at least saw him flirting with someone once every school day. Still, she didn't really think much of it - until her phone vibrated in her pocket while she was walking to her locker. Leaning against it, she took her phone out and flicked through her texts.

"Hi, it's Haruna. You had Countdown, right?" Yuina normally would've gotten annoyed at that, but the fact that it was Haruna made it a little easier to stomach. She didn't seem like the type to partake in rumors...

... wait, that could be bad. Eyes narrowing, she typed back, "why? do you have it?"

The response came fast. "No, but Shouhei says he does! Is it bad? Will he be okay? It looks like you're okay but I'm really worried about him!"

That was... well, no, it wasn't really worse. Yuina needed all the information she could get. Thinking fast, she typed, "he'll be okay. he won't really be able to do much for a day, but i promise he'll be fine." Something else popped into her head, and she asked, "do you know what his countdown is at?" Without even waiting for an answer, she opened up Chaos and began texting quickly.

[4/17 3:32 PM] ThirdBass: so shouhei has countdown, apparently

[4/17 3:33 PM] perpetuallytired: oh

[4/17 3:33 PM] perpetuallytired: welp

[4/17 3:34 PM] GentleGarden: That's... a problem. You guys are gonna rescue him, right?

[4/17 3:35 PM] ThirdBass: no, kanako, we're just gonna let him sit there and get possessed by his shadow

[4/17 3:36 PM] ThirdBass: don't worry, even i'm not mean enough to crush a bunch of girls hearts :P

[4/17 3:36 PM] time-crasher: Who's Shouhei

Oh. Right. Yuina couldn't resist chuckling, seeing a reply from Haruna pop up at the top of her screen. She hurriedly relayed the information to her friends on Chaos.

[4/17 3:37 PM] perpetuallytired: he's a cool guy at our school dw about it

[4/17 3:38 PM] ThirdBass: "cool" is debatable but potshots aside, apparently his countdown's at 12:44. at least that's what haruna said. we should meet up in an hour cause that's when his shadow will be out and about.

[4/17 3:39 PM] GentleGarden: I know I can't actually go into the Ticking Hell with you guys, but I'm going to come too! I'll be cheering you on.

[4/17 3:40 PM] time-crasher: See you guys soon, let's go for 5:00 PM

[4/17 3:41 PM] perpetuallytired: mhm

Good. Everyone was on the same page. Pleased with herself, Yuina lowered her phone, taking her backpack out of her locker and sliding it onto her shoulders in one swift motion. This was going to be a little trickier, considering she barely knew Shouhei, but hey, she barely knew Saburo and things had gone well. And just having Kanako right next to her in the "real" world, well... just the thought of it filled her with confidence.

Before she put her phone away, she texted Haruna. "shouhei's gonna be fine. i swear."

***

An hour and a half later and the Timekeepers were assembled around a table in the park, each of them with serious expressions on their faces and their weapon of choice nearby. Yuina had her bat in one hand and was occasionally clapping it against her palm like a gang member ready for a brutal beatdown, Saburo was idly loading rocks into his slingshot and firing them off at nearby trees for target practice, and Fuyuko was leaning back with her eyes closed, a pink naginata leaning against her seat. The only one without a weapon was, of course, Kanako, who was instead holding a notebook up and watching everyone as they got settled in.

Saburo was the first to speak, nodding in satisfaction as his latest rock smacked straight into the tree. "So, uh... I think I'm the only one in the dark here about this Shouhei fellow?"

"I tried to explain him to you," Fuyuko mumbled with a sleepy smile.

"Right, and I got the gist, but..." Saburo lowered his slingshot, turning his attention back to his teammates. "I'm thinking more  _ important _ stuff. Reasons he could have gotten Countdown, namely. You said he was cool, and that's great, but I doubt his relative coolness has anything to do with why he contracted it. Though I suppose it  _ could _ depending on..."

Fuyuko opened one eye, raising an eyebrow as she watched him trail off - and smirking just a bit at Kanako's giggles. "What kinda juice does your brain run on, dude?"

"Whatever it is, it's faster than my mouth sometimes." Saburo took the joke in stride, scratching his head. "Anyhow. Any of you have ideas for why he could have gotten infected? That'd potentially give us an edge in dealing with him."

Naturally, his first glance was at Yuina, but she shook her head. "Don't look at me. Kanako and I are first-years; I've had maybe two conversations with the guy total. Most I know about him is that he can get almost any gal heart-eyed and he's the top of his class. Like, we're talking a free ride through college."

Kanako blushed slightly, looking away. "He, um, kind of has a way with words."

Deciding to ignore that, Yuina straightened in her seat. "Hey, Fuyuko, you're a second year. You know much about him?"

"As much as I'd like to help, I know pretty much the same. The guy's kinda secretive, which is extra weird." Fuyuko frowned, stuffing her hands in her blouse. "He's the kinda person where you think you know him, then someone asks you what his favorite color is and suddenly you're tongue-tied. A few people don't even know his last name."

Kanako held up her notebook. "I tried asking around at school for a bit, but that's pretty much what I got. Nobody could tell me anything about him."

Well, that was just great. Yuina exhaled, gritting her teeth. Seeing her friends' efforts go to waste was... frustrating. "His friend Haruna probably knows the most, but we don't exactly have time to ask her. I'd rather not drag her into this, either. She'd probably faint if we started pushing her for exact answers."

"Then I guess our only option is to delve into the unknown." Saburo didn't look the slightest bit deterred, standing up. "Even if it'd be better to know our enemy, we did fine against Shadow Fuyuko without knowing what was up with her, right? No sense in fixing what isn't broken."

That was a good point. Relaxing a bit, Yuina grinned to Kanako. "See you in a minute."

"Right... it's not gonna look like any time passed at all for me, huh?" Kanako tapped her chin. "That's kinda weird to think about."

Fuyuko shrugged, yawning and stretching widely. "Look at this way: you're not going to be dealing with eldritch demons." She slowly got to her feet, picking up her naginata. "So... we get in there with the watches, right? Hold down the button or somethin'?"

"Wait!" 

Saburo's sudden shout caused Yuina and Kanako to jump a bit; it sounded like he had something incredibly important to bring up. Yuina looked towards him, eyes narrowing. "What is it? What?"

Saburo held his position for a few moments before pointing behind him. "Before we go, can I get all those rocks? No sense in wasting them."

Yuina stared at him for a few seconds before sighing heavily. "... Yeah. Knock yourself out."

_ April 17 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

Even after going into the Ticking Hell for a fourth time, it wasn't any less creepy. As the three finished transporting, all of them slowly opened their eyes, stepping back from the table. Yuina snuck a glance at Kanako, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Sure, she knew she was fine, but seeing her stuck in the middle of waving, staring with a frozen smile on her face... it was enough for her to nearly lose her nerve.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a snap of the fingers. "Earth to Yuina?" Fuyuko raised one hand, holding her naginata behind her.

"... Right. Sorry." Yuina forced herself to turn around, scuffing her bat across the ground. "C'mon, let's move out."

The trio made their way out of the park, wandering the streets. Fuyuko made sure to stay behind the others, occasionally glancing left, then right. "So I kinda got a look at this place, but... now that I'm actually registering stuff, it's a little weirder than I thought. Do we just wander around until we see something that looks like Shouhei?"

Saburo shook his head. "It should be a little more obvious than that, from what I've seen. I doubt he'll make a big hall of mirrors. You said he's cool, right? Maybe he'll drive by on a motorcycle or something? Those are cool, right?"

"Somehow I get the feeling that's not what he's gonna drive in on." Yuina raised an eyebrow. "Not that motorcycles aren't cool, but... that's not Shouhei cool. If anything, considering he's one of those academic types, he's probably gonna have some kinda big distorted school or something..."

She trailed off, something clicking in her head.  _ The school. _

Fuyuko seemed to catch on, leaning against the wall and rubbing her eyes with one hand. "If you wanna check at Youkou, it's not too far. Let's go check it out."

"Yuina, that's brilliant!" Saburo whistled sharply, crossing his arms. "I never thought that Shadows might head to locations significant to their host. In hindsight, it probably makes sense... considering I was just around the streets of Okabe. I like wandering in my spare time and stuff."

Yuina glanced towards Fuyuko. Though she didn't really want to say it out loud, the fact that her hall of mirrors was in the middle of the street was... discomforting, to say the least. Still, she elected to ignore it for now - there'd be a time and a place to bring that up. "Uh, yeah. Thanks. Let's go take a look - Saburo, stay behind us and keep a lookout for any Shadows that might jump us. We'll be leading the way."

"Got it." Saburo fell in line behind Fuyuko, keeping his slingshot at the ready.

Fortunately, the Timekeepers did not get jumped by any Shadows, leaving the short walk to Youkou as the only thing of note... at least, until they were walking onto the road leading up to the school. Yuina hadn't really noticed much of a difference in the atmosphere at first, just occasionally looking around. However, as they stepped onto the path that led to school, she hesitated briefly, noticing not something she saw first... but something she heard. The endless ticking of clocks being the only sound in the Ticking Hell made it easy enough to notice.

Still, she tilted her head, trying to make it out. "Is that, uh... a person talking?"

"Sounds like it. There's some background music, too." Fuyuko yawned loudly. "Guess we found our Shadow."

Even though it seemed like a good omen, Yuina couldn't help but feel a bit skeptical. Was it really that easy? Stepping in front of the rest of her teammates, she rounded the corner. From here, the path was a straight shot to Youkou High School, and she could even see it in the distance - 

Her jaw dropped.

Sure, the school gates were still there, but that was the only sign that her high school had even been here in the first place. Yuina stared dumbfoundedly at the building behind the massive black fences - the massive skyscraper that stretched out into the clouds, with vague humanoids filing in and out. Even from a distance, she could tell something wasn't right with them - their skin was pitch black, and they shambled about like strange oozy things  _ trying _ to be people. The more she stared, the more details she noticed - like the loudspeakers covering the corners of the building blasting music with incomprehensible lyrics, or the strange unidentifiable objects occasionally circling the upper floors.

She could've just stood there for who knew how long, but Saburo's voice snapped her out of her trance. "Uh, I'm guessing this isn't Youkou normally?"

Fuyuko whistled, sounding impressed. "When you said distorted locations, I didn't expect our school to just poof into thin air."

"Yeah, uh. I wasn't expecting that either." Yuina shook her head, raising her bat. "So, what I'm getting from this is that Shadow Shouhei is a capitalist. Great. Now I won't feel bad about when we have to beat the shit out of him."

Fuyuko's nod of agreement caused her to chuckle. The lazy girl spun around her naginata, almost like it was a toy. "Let's hope we don't need to enter by appointment."

"Indeed. That'd be awfully impolite." Saburo's serious tone caused both girls to burst into giggles. The three members of the Timekeepers nodded to each other before breaking into sprints, dashing for the entrance of the distorted corporate building.

Yuina braced herself for a fight as they came through the "school" gates, ready to swing her bat at any Shadow that came her way. Once again, her expectations were challenged as none of the Shadow humans even seemed to acknowledge her existence, just mindlessly filing in and out of the building. She came to a stop as one passed right by her without so much as glancing her way - while seeing that all of them were dressed in identical blue business suits was kind of funny, the fact that the three didn't even exist to them... well, she wasn't sure how to feel. It made their job easier, at least...

Deciding to look on the bright side, she flung open the door, observing the interior of the building. That was  _ far _ closer to what she expected, as it looked just like any stereotypical white-collar workplace - rug on the floor, chairs and tables near the walls, a round reception desk at the back, and even an elevator and a stairway on the side. Just seeing stairs made Yuina scoff. Yes, climbing the hundred-floor-tall building or whatever was  _ definitely _ an option here.

It looked like Saburo and Fuyuko had the same thought, as they both took a step towards the elevator. Saburo cautiously looked around, his slingshot at the ready. "So, uh... do we just go right to the top, or - "   
  


**"Excuse me, kids! That elevator only operates for certain employees."**

The distorted, yet  _ surprisingly _ friendly voice got Yuina to jump in surprise. She had vaguely registered the receptionist, sure, but she only now turned her full attention towards her, seeing her waving at them behind the desk. Being a Shadow, she had no visible face, which was slightly unsettling, but it was nothing that would drive Yuina off.

Confidently, she took a few steps forwards, slouching over the desk and leaning forward. The ridiculous music from outside made it a little difficult to concentrate, but she managed to focus. "We're here to see, uh. Mr. Hayato. We're friends of his."

**"Do you have an appointment?"** The receptionist's voice remained polite as she folded her hands together.

Well... bullshitting would probably make things worse, so Yuina decided to just be honest to this random Shadow, raising her bat. "No, but I'll make a deal with you: if you don't let us see him right now, I'll beat your ass. Simple as that, okay?"

The receptionist stared at her with that blank expression, which had gone from creepy to annoying. Yuina  _ really _ wished she could get at least a little bit of a read on her. Before she was about to go for the elevator and try to whack it into submission, the Shadow leaned down, pressing a button beneath her desk.  **"Mr. Hayato, some people are here to see you. They're threatening me, too."**

**_"Tell them they should've come three years ago!"_ ** Shouhei's voice - or, at least, his Shadow's voice - caused all three of the Timekeepers to perk up. **_"I've got so many appointments to deal with! I've got new pitches to hear out, new inventions to fund, and new things to spend our money on! No time for old news!"_ **

The receptionist shrugged nonchalantly. **"Well, you heard him. Our next appointment will be available in around four years, though."**

"Sorry, but this is urgent." Saburo shook his head, loading his slingshot with a rock. "Believe it or not, unlike the company I keep, I don't really like to threaten people. But we  _ do _ need to meet with him within at least the next twelve hours. Preferably eleven, considering how the whole Countdown thing works."

The receptionist sighed in annoyance, pressing the buzzer underneath her desk again. Just when Yuina thought she was going to give in, she instead spoke a single word that caused her to back off.  **"Security!"**

Almost instantly, two massive humanoid Shadows burst from the stairwell, both of them cracking their knuckles.  **"We're going to have to ask you to leave,"** they said in unison, grunting.

"Sorry, but I've got a track record of not listening." Yuina pressed down on her watch, summoning Caulfield behind her. "Everyone, get ready!"

Both of the security guards snarled like wild animals before throwing back their heads, bodies writhing violently as they twisted and contorted in unnatural ways before dissolving into puddles of goop. They reformed in seconds, each of them taking a distinct shape - and out of the corner of her eye, Yuina could see the receptionist also dissolving and taking their own form. She ignored that for now, focusing on the two newly spawned Shadows in front of her.

The first one already gave her uncomfortable vibes. Yuina had a soft spot for insects, but the giant gray praying mantis in front of her was pushing it. The praying mantis wore a flower-patterned kimono, and its head was bowed - its face was also covered by an orange mask with circles on it. That said, she took one look at the other Shadow and nearly gagged. This one looked like it was  _ trying _ to be a human, but had gotten several things wrong - its right arm and its right leg were swapped, it had a third arm sprouting from its back, its head appeared to be on upside down and was pressed up against its chest... just the sight made her shiver. Even its mask was different compared to the others; it was gray and upside-down.

"Oh, great, it's one of  _ those... _ " Saburo winced, stepping back and keeping his slingshot at the ready.

"One of what?" As Yuina stared down the Shadows, names popped into her head - a Mourning Mantis and an Imperfect Mockery.

"A Mockery. They're unpredictable, so keep an eye out for - whoa!"

Yuina whipped towards where Saburo was, seeing him jerking back and pointing his slingshot towards the receptionist. She turned to see what he was looking at and nearly leapt backwards in surprise - while the Shadow was less grotesque than the Mockery, she still didn't exactly feel comfortable with the giant eye staring at her. The Disquieting Stare floated in the air, a pair of muscular blue arms extending out from behind itself as it clenched its fists.

"I forgot these things are seriously fucked." Yuina stepped back, ready to charge in. "So who's going for which one - "

"Yuina, go for the Mantis." Yuina flinched abruptly at Fuyuko's tone of voice. Gone was any hint of tiredness or relaxation - she sounded focused and attentive. She looked back towards her teammate, seeing her glaring sharply at each Shadow. "The rest will try to jump you, so Saburo, keep them busy. I'll cover both of you."

The sight of Fuyuko suddenly barking orders was enough for Yuina to awkwardly whip towards the Mourning Mantis with no complaints. She didn't really have time to think about why Fuyuko was suddenly awake - and honestly, it was a welcome change. She dashed towards the Shadow, experimentally swinging her bat towards its chest; unsurprisingly, the Mantis raised one of its scythelike arms and parried the blow. 

The two locked weapons, pressing up against each other - which was exactly what Yuina was counting on. With a fiery grin, she silently beckoned Caulfield, who chucked an Agi fireball over her head straight at the Mantis's face. The spell exploded against the Shadow, breaking its guard; Yuina immediately kicked at its legs, causing it to collapse to the ground. Exactly as Fuyuko predicted, the other two Shadows tried to lunge at her while she was distracted, but Saburo shot a rock straight into the Disquieting Stare's iris and Fuyuko jumped in for a quick strike, slashing with her naginata and forcing the Mockery to back off. She stepped back, covering Yuina's behind as both of them raised their weapons.

"Did your morning coffee kick in or something?" Yuina glanced towards Fuyuko, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's just say I don't like my friends getting hurt." Fuyuko's smile was no longer sleepy or half-attentive - it was downright mischievous; the sort of thing that made Yuina glad she was on her side. Before she could dwell on it, though, Fuyuko's posture straightened. "They're getting back up. Saburo, keep us covered."

Not a moment too soon did Fuyuko get everyone's guard back up, as the Mourning Mantis leapt upwards and dashed forwards gracefully, swinging both arms down in crushing slashes. Yuina was forced to grip the other end of her bat and hold it up like some sort of dumbbell, blocking the blow and fighting to keep her knees buckling. She could vaguely hear slashes from Fuyuko's naginata coming from behind her, so she silently prayed Saburo had her covered - which he did, if the rock slamming into its face was any indication. 

Yuina flipped around her bat so she was holding it properly, ready for a swing at the Mantis while its guard was down, but a sudden blast to her chest caused her to stumble, arms instinctively covering her body. The Mantis darted forwards with a sideways swipe, breaking Yuina's concentration and sending her tumbling to the ground, her bat clattering a few feet away.

_ Where the hell did that blast come from...? _ Her eyes weakly turned towards the Disquieting Stare, whose eye had a steadily fading blue glow to it. Before she could get up, the Mourning Mantis dashed her way again, raising one arm to impale her in the forehead. Yuina barely had time to roll to the side, gulping as the Shadow's bladelike arm slammed straight through the concrete like it was cutting through butter. 

On the bright side, it was stuck trying to pull its arm out, which was all the opportunity Yuina needed. Scooting towards her bat, she leapt up and swung it as hard as she could, bashing the Mantis's skull in hard enough that it left a deep cavity. The Shadow let out a shriek, collapsing to the ground and disintegrating into nothing.

As much as Yuina wanted to feel triumphant, remembering what had happened last time she let her guard down, she quickly turned her attention to the other Shadows - and not a moment too soon, as a cackle came from behind her. Yuina whipped around to see the Imperfect Mockery swiping with one of its misshapen limbs at Fuyuko, grappling onto her scarf and smacking her straight in the chest. Fuyuko grunted as she was sent tumbling to the ground, keeping a grip on her naginata as best as she could.

_ Thaaaaat's bad. _ Yuina glanced over her shoulder, waving. "Hey, uh, Saburo, could you actually come up here now that we've got less to worry about?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah!" Saburo dashed next to Yuina, summoning Tristram behind him. The buglike Persona roared, which was enough to catch the Mockery's attention - in the most grotesque way, considering its head swiveled towards the two Persona users, somehow managing to turn completely backwards.

"That's some serious horror movie shit." Ignoring her stomach churning, Yuina switched to Succubus, seeing the Disquieting Stare float next to its Shadow comrade. Her eyes turned to Fuyuko, ready to defend her if need be - only to see her pressing the button on her watch, summoning Merricat by her side. The Persona stood atop its stack of books and let out a yowl - which turned the attention of both Shadows to her.

_ Shit, shit, shit...! _ Before she could stop herself, Yuina dashed straight in between the Shadows and Fuyuko, calling upon her Persona. "Succubus, help me out here!"

_ "You don't need to be so rough." _ Succubus huffed, but nonetheless snapped her fingers, shooting off a blast of darkness straight at the Imperfect Mockery. The Eiha attack coursed through its body, causing it to stumble back - though it didn't seem like it was that hurt, it was enough of a distraction that Saburo was able to follow up with a Kouha from Tristram. The force of the blast was enough to send the Imperfect Mockery tumbling over, turning into a mess of limbs and struggling to get up.

Yuina raised her bat, but something clicked in her mind, and she hurriedly brought herself into a defensive position - not a moment too soon as another Frei blast from the Disquieting Stare exploded against her chest. While her bat helped block some of the hit, she still grit her teeth, trying to ignore what felt like first-degree burns all across her body. Her knees shook, but she managed to keep herself standing protectively in front of Fuyuko... at least, for a few seconds.

Just as she was about to collapse, though, she felt something against her cheek - a licking sensation. Abruptly, the pain in her body subsided to a dull throb that she could barely feel. Confused, she turned around to see Merricat floating behind her, levitating back to its book stack. Furthermore, Fuyuko seemed completely fine, leaning against her Persona's stand and petting it.

Yuina pointed to the Persona, then to herself. "... Did your cat just  _ lick _ me?"   
  


"Hey, if you're not a fan of healing, be my guest." Fuyuko casually patted Merricat on the head before walking around to the fallen Mockery, stabbing her naginata straight into its head without so much as a change in expression. A distorted squeal erupted from its mouth before it fell apart completely, leaving a black-and-red puddle on the ground that evaporated a second later.

Making a note to be  _ extremely _ cautious around Fuyuko, Yuina fully turned her attention to the only Shadow left, switching back to Caulfield. Though it was a little hard to tell considering the lack of visible facial features, the Disquieting Stare didn't even seem the slightest bit perturbed, cracking its oversized knuckles. It raised one fist, ready to punch Yuina before a rock smacked straight into its iris, causing it to cover itself in pain with a grunt. Saburo grinned, pumping his fist in triumph before noticing the others looking at him in amusement, hurriedly clearing his throat, and loading another rock into the slingshot.

Yuina chuckled, turning her attention to the Shadow with a grin that she knew would make any regular person shit their pants. "Yeah, how do  _ you _ like potshots?" She leapt straight towards the Shadow while it was immobilized, sidestepping and smashing her bat straight into it from behind and sending it toppling forwards. "Caulfield, finish it off."

_ "I'm gonna put you through the goddamn ground!" _ Caulfield lunged straight for the Shadow with one spiked fist extended, ripping straight through the Stare in one fell strike. The creature split down the middle, both halves collapsing to the ground and disappearing.

Yuina breathed heavily for a moment, cautiously looking left and right to make sure there were no more Shadows ready to jump her. She had been caught up enough in the fight that she hadn't realized some of the worker Shadows from earlier were occasionally filing through the room, whether it be entering the building and heading for the staircase or the other way around. Like before, they didn't even acknowledge the group's existence - and they didn't even show any indication that a fight had broken out, just going about their business.

Feeling a need to reassure herself that they had been fighting real Shadows and this wasn't some screwed-up hallucination, Yuina glanced down at where the Disquieting Stare had been, expecting some of its remains to be there. She didn't see any chunks of muscular arms or oversized eyelashes, but she  _ did _ see a faint sparkle on the ground. Feeling a sense of deja vu, she bent down to her knees, swiping at the object curiously.

"Uh, Yuina? You find something?" Fuyuko peered over her shoulder curiously.

Yuina didn't respond, feeling a new presence enter her mind. The voice was enough for her to relax a bit - it sounded surprisingly normal, like a cheerful child.  _ "You freed me, miss! Thanks!" _

"You're welcome." Recalling her first meeting with Succubus, Yuina decided to cut straight to the chase. "So you're another Persona, right? Cause if you wanna fight for me, then I'm all for it. I could use some more firepower."

The idea of asking a kid to fight Shadows with her was just a little uncomfortable, so Yuina felt relieved as the Persona shimmered to life in front of her. Given Saburo and Fuyuko both stepping back in surprise, it was obvious enough they saw it - which was a relief, considering Yuina looked like she was talking to herself while holding onto nothing. The Persona was extremely small - barely bigger than Yuina's head; it looked like a green paper doll with strange orange spirals scribbled onto its face and torso.  _ "We're just going right there, huh? I like that!" _

Yuina smirked, raising her bat. "Pleased to meet you. Let's kick some ass."

_ "My name's Kodama! I'll guide you through thick and thin!" _ Kodama bowed its little head, swishing around the air, before vanishing.

"So that's what getting a new Persona looks like, huh?" Fuyuko inspected where Kodama had been before, tilting her head to the side. Her movements were considerably slower... no, really, it was more like she was back to normal now that they weren't in any visible danger. "Do you know what kinda Shadows drop 'em, or..."

Yuina shrugged, leaning against the receptionist's desk. "I dunno. It's weird; not really something I can explain. I've only gotten two of them. It's more like a gut feeling than anything." She glanced over her shoulder. "... Everyone alright?"

"I got out of that completely unscathed. At least, physically." Saburo tapped his forehead with his index finger. "Little frazzled up here, but it's nothing that won't settle."

"I don't blame you. That Mockery thing was seriously fucked up." Yuina snorted, taking a step around the desk. "The elevator only opens for certain people, right?"

Fuyuko walked over to the elevator, studying it carefully. "Looks like it. There's a card slot on top of the buttons. I don't really wanna press anything; might trigger a bomb or something."

Yuina stared at her for a second before deciding it probably  _ was _ safer to leave it alone for now, bending down and pressing the button underneath. "Hey. Shouhei."

**_"Miss, I'm going to have to put you on hold! I still have thirty-seven other calls!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei's barking voice caused her to flinch. Hearing him sound anything but cool and collected just seemed... wrong.  **_"Not to mention, you still don't have an appointment! Go make one with my receptionist?"_ **

"Uh, she's kind of, sort of..." Saburo glanced down to where the Disquieting Stare had disintegrated. "... dead."

Shadow Shouhei paused, before grumbling in annoyance.  **_"... Well, that's a problem. Who's going to make the appointments now?"_ **

Yuina growled. "Is that seriously - ok, look, I'm not climbing a hundred stories to get to you. Tell me how to operate the elevator or I'm gonna snap your secretary's neck too."

Both Saburo and Fuyuko looked at her in surprise, but Yuina didn't back down. She felt herself exhale as Shadow Shouhei finally replied, sounding less frightened and more irritated.  **_"Fine, fine. If you want priority that badly, then go find my chief security officer. He can give you clearance for the elevator. Security offices are on the fifth floor. Now let me get back to work! I've got big plans for the future!"_ **

After a click resounded through the room, Yuina stepped away with a grin. "Looks like we've got our ticket."

"Lemme guess: he's not gonna let us go without a fight." Fuyuko turned towards the staircase.

Saburo nodded in agreement. "That is, in fact, how this usually goes. But we have a healer now! Do you have any idea how useful that is?" He spun around excitedly. "I thought it was annoying when Shadows could heal each other, but now we can turn it right back on them! This gives us some fantastic staying power."

"Just, uh, don't ask me to help you too much." Fuyuko rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Not sure how much Merricat can lick y'all before I pass out."

That mental image was enough for Yuina to crack a sincere smile. "Even I'm not that reckless. C'mon, let's get climbing." She marched towards the staircase, her teammates in tow.


	23. Trouble and Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Here's a nice little fight chapter, along with some foreshadowing laid out here and there. I hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 17 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

The staircase before Yuina didn't look like anything special - just a giant set of steps leading up to the next floor, dizzying in its height. If anyone fell so much from the third floor, they'd probably break their legs at the minimum. On the one hand, there being nothing special to worry about here helped make this relatively painless. On the other hand, the worker shadows completely ignoring the group coupled with the size of the stairs was going to make this  _ beyond _ boring.

Stifling a groan, Yuina started walking up the stairs, carefully hugging the walls. There were no railings, and she didn't want to risk the chance of one of the workers suddenly coming to life and chucking her down several flights. "I kinda wish Kanako were here," she muttered in an attempt to strike up a conversation with the others. "She'd probably be several steps ahead of us."

"No kidding. That girl's sharper than a razorblade." Fuyuko yawned, walking in a far more leisurely manner. "But, uh... the other option's endangering her, and I get the feeling that's not your thing."

Just the thought made Yuina agitated, so she let a simple raise of her bat serve as a response. Fuyuko nodded in satisfaction. "Gotta admit, you guys have a real friendship."

"How long have you known each other?" Saburo chimed in, also staying closer to the wall - and occasionally pointing his slingshot around, like he was expecting a Shadow to leap out of the walls for no reason and devour them whole.

"Since I moved to Okabe. She's pretty much the only friend I had for a long while until you guys came along." Yuina felt herself relax a bit, her mind swimming with pleasant memories. "You know how some people just click? It was pretty much that. I dunno why she's stuck with me even after seeing me at my worst, but... she has. It feels like she's the only person who really gets what I'm all about and the stuff I have to deal with."

Pausing, she added, "Not that you guys aren't awesome, obviously."

"Nah, I get it." Fuyuko waved a hand dismissively. "Honestly, I was kinda put off by your rough n' tough attitude, but you're not that bad."

Wait, she  _ was _ ? Yuina's thoughts went back to their first interaction. She didn't really get that at all... She studied Fuyuko's face for just a moment, not detecting anything besides her usual lazy expression. Just how much was she hiding underneath that uncaring face?

She was lost enough in thought that she only barely registered Saburo calling, "Yuina! Careful!"

Yuina jolted, abruptly stopping in her tracks - and slamming straight into one of the worker Shadows. Fuyuko moved swiftly, suddenly grappling onto Yuina's shoulders and keeping her steady. The worker was not so fortunate, stumbling back and falling straight over the edge of the stairs, careening several floors down with a disgustingly audible  _ SPLAT! _

Fuyuko made sure Yuina was okay before letting her stand on her own, drawing her naginata. Seeing what she was thinking, Yuina gripped her bat tightly, glancing at the other workers in panic. Knowing her luck, she had probably set them all off to attack or something...

... actually, no, they were still just walking without a care in the world. It was hard to tell if they had even noticed their coworker's untimely demise.

Yuina stared, baffled, before lowering her bat. "Are you fucking serious?"

"You sound disappointed. I don't like that. Don't sound disappointed." Saburo stepped closer to the others. "I mean, we're probably going to get into a fight anyway soon, but that's not something to celebrate."

"It's not that, it's just..." Yuina threw her hands up in the air. "You'd think these white-collar assholes would at least react to someone  _ dying _ right in front of them. Jesus christ."

"If you wanna get technical, they're black-collars," Fuyuko noted idly.

That pun was stupid enough that Yuina couldn't resist giggling just a bit, feeling the tension dissipate. She looked up, noticing the nearest doorway marked "3F". "There's only a couple more floors to go. C'mon."

The ascent for the next two floors was spent in slightly uncomfortable silence. Any desire Yuina had to keep a conversation going had died out after seeing an employee turn into a human pancake, so she kept her mouth shut, occasionally sneaking glances at the other Shadows to see if they would suddenly turn and attack her. There had to be  _ some _ kind of trick here, right?

Ultimately, it seemed her worries were unfounded, as the trio experienced no distractions before stopping in front of a set of double doors labeled "5F". Yuina stepped forwards, resting one hand on her hip. "So this is our stop, huh?"

"Be prepared," Saburo warned. That was all he really needed to say, the other two girls nodding in agreement. Yuina took a deep breath before pushing the door open, stepping inside and bracing herself for a fight.

Thankfully, she wasn't attacked immediately, allowing her to size up the room before her properly. The security offices, as Shouhei called them, didn't look that different from the lobby on the first floor - they had the same wallpaper, same reception desk with an identical-looking receptionist behind it, even the same chairs on the sides of the room. The resemblance was uncanny - and frankly a little creepy. However, unlike the first floor, this room had a visible hallway on the left side, leading further back into the room. From a distance, Yuina could make out some humanoid Shadows dressed in blue security wear messing around.

Cautiously, she stepped towards the receptionist. "Hi. Um, Mr. Hayato said we need to meet with the head of security."

**"Ah! You must be the guests he mentioned. I'll call him right away."** The receptionist stood up, bowing to the three Persona users before walking away.

"She was a lot more cooperative than the one on the first floor," Saburo mused, looking down at the ground. "I'm assuming she either didn't hear about our stunt down there or she doesn't care."

Fuyuko shrugged, taking a seat at one of the chairs. "Whatever makes things easier."

Yuina got the feeling it wasn't going to be this simple, but before she could vocalize her concerns, the receptionist returned with another bow.  **"He'd like to see you personally, if you don't mind. Please head down the hall and he'll take over from there."**

That was a hundred percent a bad sign. Both Fuyuko and Saburo glanced to Yuina for guidance, and she took a deep breath before sighing. "Fuck it. C'mon, guys, let's say hi." She made her way to the hall, her grip tightening around her bat as the other two members of the Timekeepers filed in behind her.

The three entered a large room connected to several others - the reception desk was obviously behind them, but just from looking Yuina could make out five other doors surrounding the room. All but one of them were open, but she could only catch glimpses of each of them before a security Shadow walked by and cut off her vision - one seemed to be a computer room, one looked like a room with a circular target on the back wall... even if it was a bit chaotic, she couldn't deny it was neatly organized.

Before she could try to catch glimpses of the other two rooms, however, the one with a closed door swung open. Yuina gulped as a huge humanoid Shadow squeezed through the doorframe, grunting as he glanced down at the humans before him. She thought the security guards they had fought before were huge before they transformed, but she barely came up to this guy's knee. Even his voice was deep and powerful, as he rumbled,  **"You kids are the troublemakers on the first floor, huh?"**

Fighting to maintain her stance, Yuina idly swung her bat around. "Yeah." She tried her best to sound nonchalant. "That's hopefully the last bit of trouble we'll cause, though. If you give us what we want, we'll be done here."

The head of security stared down at her for a few seconds before bursting into a hearty laugh, covering his chest with one hand.  **"Ho ho ho! Continue, then. This should be entertaining."**

"Looks like the only reason he hasn't beat us to a pulp is cause we're funny." Fuyuko yawned, covering her mouth. "Keep being funny, Yuina."

_ What's THAT supposed to mean? _ Yuina shot Fuyuko a look before continuing, doing her best to sound nonconfrontational - a task that was far harder than it should've been. "We'd like to meet with Mr. Hayato, but we don't have time to go up the stairs. He told us to talk to you about getting the elevator set for us."

The Shadow chuckled before reaching inside his coat, pulling out a dark blue keycard.  **"You're looking for something like this, then?"**

Yuina almost reached for the card, but her intuition caught her just in time, and she pulled her hand away. "Are you  _ seriously _ going to give it to us just like that?"

**"Of course not!"** The Shadow put away the card. Though it had no visible face, Yuina could practically feel a shit-eating grin from it.  **"You killed my men. Besides, Mr. Hayato doesn't have time for punks like you. You're old news! He's got a bright future ahead of him, and it's my job to make sure he stays squeaky clean."**

"For the record, your men attacked us first." Saburo raised his slingshot, cautiously taking a step back. He hesitated, slowly looking around. "... Uh, speaking of..."

Yuina looked around to see what he saw - or, rather, what he didn't see. All of the security guards surrounding the area had vanished completely. She looked back towards the head of security, seeing his muscles starting to bulge and throb. "Well, option B was beating the shit out of you anyway. We're getting that card." If anything, the other Shadows vanishing was good news, considering that meant this guy didn't have reinforcements.

At least, she hoped.

**"Show me what you've got!"** The Shadow threw back his head with a laugh - that slowly turned into animalistic screeching. His clothes ripped apart, falling into tatters on the ground and melting as he fully took shape, massive spikes of bone erupting from his arms and legs. His head shifted to form that of a ferocious gorilla - one with viciously sharp fangs.

Yuina felt a name for the Shadow pop into her head, summoning Kodama instinctively. "Everyone, get ready for - "

That was as far as she got before the Fluent Primate roared, smashing both of its fists down in front of itself. The resulting shockwave slammed into all of the Timekeepers, sending them flying across the room and slamming into the walls.

_ Rgh... _ Yuina struggled to get up, her vision blurry. With a snarl, the Shadow beat its chest before charging towards Fuyuko.

***

Fuyuko was tired.

Nothing new, if she was being honest with herself. Most people slept eight hours and were awake sixteen? On a weekend she could switch those numbers without even a hitch in her sleep schedule. Getting out of bed, paying attention in class, sometimes even going to get a meal of the day... it felt like more trouble than it was worth. Stepping up to help her friends fight Shadows was undoubtedly the worst of it. Doing everyday tasks was hard enough, but something that put her life at risk? Almost out of the question.

And yet, as she saw those same friends smash into the walls shortly after she did, and the Fluent Primate sprinting towards her like a freight train, one thought came into her head, overshadowing her constant ennui.

This was not the time to be tired.

Fuyuko grabbed onto her naginata and thrust it forwards like a spear, stabbing straight into the Primate's stomach. The ape's roar mutated into a strangled yelp. Fuyuko didn't give it any time to try to pull her weapon free, wedging her naginata around a bit before using her free hand to tap her watch. "Merricat."

Her Persona appeared in front of her, meowing and swiping playfully towards the Shadow. A pink burst of energy exploded against its head, causing it to stumble backwards - and giving Saburo enough time to shoot it straight in the head with a slingshot. Dazed from the long assault of attacks, the Fluent Primate collapsed to one knee, panting heavily.

Satisfied, Fuyuko stood up and broke out into a sprint towards Saburo, silently willing Merricat to heal him. After a lick on the cheek, she made her way to Yuina, doing the same. "You alright?"

"Fine. One little shockwave isn't gonna put me down," Yuina grunted. Just like Fuyuko expected, she was quick to resummon her Persona and raise her bat. Fuyuko had to admit, Kodama was kinda adorable - it looked like a paper doll you'd hang outside a house for decor, or something.

"That's still less painful than anything your Shadow threw at us, so I'd consider that a net positive." Saburo regrouped with the two girls, calling forth his own considerably less cute (but still cool) Persona. "You really put the hurt on it, Fuyuko!"

"I know what I'm doing. Sometimes." Fuyuko shrugged, barely managing to resist jokingly asking him to praise her more. Before anyone could let their guard down, though, a loud roar interrupted their conversation, causing everyone to whip towards the Primate. The wound in its stomach was rapidly closing, the black liquid dripping from it coagulating back into a solid mass that plugged its wound up.

"... At least, I thought I did." Fuyuko's eyes narrowed, and she felt her mind go back into that hyperconcentrated state that was strangely familiar to her. "We'll need to hit it with something it can't heal off. Any of you got some secret weapon in store?"

"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what the hell Kodama does." Yuina looked back at her Persona skeptically. "But I'm pretty good at hitting things hard."

The Fluent Primate cracked its knuckles. Fuyuko just sighed, looking to... was it safe to call Yuina their leader? She had powers none of them did and was kinda bossy, so her being the boss was probably right. "Wanna demonstrate for us?"

"I'd be happy to." Yuina grinned, raising her bat and dashing forwards. As the Fluent Primate swung one meaty fist her way, she leapt backwards before bashing the Shadow's shoulder loud enough that the  _ PING! _ echoed through the whole room. Kodama followed up by pointing its hands in her opponent's direction, generating a burst of wind around the wound and causing it to howl in agony.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fuyuko caught Saburo pressing his watch, and figured she'd do the same, bringing Merricat forth once more. The two of them launched a Kouha blast and a Psi bolt respectively, the spells crackling with energy as they struck the Shadow. Coupled with the wind energy, Fuyuko was sure that would cause some permanent damage.

And yet, the various wounds inflicted in the Fluent Primate's body began to close up. Yuina watched in stunned shock as the Shadow slowly stood back up, panting a bit but looking no worse for the wear. With a toothy grin, it stepped forwards and delivered a meaty punch straight into Yuina's chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her skidding across the ground. Kodama sizzled out of existence as she slammed into the wall behind her, groaning in pain.

"Crap..." Fuyuko muttered under her breath, quickly running to Yuina and making sure Merricat came by her side. Though another Dia helped Yuina get to her feet, Fuyuko found herself swaying a bit unsteadily. "... World spinning for you guys too?"

Instead of responding, Saburo gripped his slingshot. "We can't take more hits like that. Well, maybe we could. But we  _ shouldn't _ . We still have to deal with Shadow Shouhei after this."

_ Right. _ "Hate to tell you guys, but I'm not sure how much more help I'm gonna be on the healing side." Fuyuko stepped back, managing to steady herself enough that it felt like the floor was steady under her again. "So try not to get punched by the - "

**"GRARGH!"** Fuyuko barely had time to duck as the Primate lunged for her, swinging inches above her head and splintering the concrete with how hard it punched. Panicking, Saburo sprinted back to gain some distance, while Yuina dashed in and swung her bat straight into the Shadow's jaw. While it was about as effective as every other blow thrown towards it so far, it was enough that the Primate backed off, rubbing its chin with an irritated grunt.

"I think I've got something." Yuina turned the rim of her watch, swapping her Persona to Caulfield. "Uh... Tarukaja?"

Fuyuko watched skeptically as Caulfield thrust one hand out, surrounding Yuina with a yellowish aura. Her amusement, however, quickly turned into amazement as the Primate charged her once more, only to be met with a swing from her bat that collided straight with its fist hard enough not only to stop the attack, but to cause a huge bruise on the Shadow's fist. The Primate stared at her in shock before Yuina wordlessly thrust out one hand, and Caulfield dashed in and grappled onto its shoulder tightly, before sharply pulling.

_ SQUELCH! _

Fuyuko had to resist vomiting as Caulfield ripped the Primate's arm right off, tossing it behind him with little effort. The useless limb dissolved into nothing as the Shadow roared loud enough that it felt like Fuyuko's eardrums were about to burst. Great. Having to see that was bad enough, but hearing it was debatably even worse. Still, looking on the bright side would probably be better for her team. There was no way the Primate could recover from that, right?

The Shadow kneeled down, clutching its arm-stump in agony. It grit its teeth, the dark aura around it intensifying before a new arm suddenly sprouted from the socket.

"Are you  _ shitting _ me right now?" The smirk melted off Yuina's face as she stared dumbfoundedly at the Shadow.

"Hey, chill. The arm's kinda messy." Fuyuko gestured, noticing a few things about the new arm - unlike the rest of the Primate's body, it didn't have any sort of fuzzy texture, and it was dripping with the black blood of a Shadow. "I doubt he's gonna heal that off unless we take too long."

Her words were enough to stir Yuina. She lunged at the Primate once more, but it sidestepped before delivering a swift uppercut that the Persona user barely managed to dodge. Another blast of light against the back of its head caused it to turn towards Saburo with a grunt, gnashing its teeth - only to be met with a rock straight in one eye. The monkey howled, covering its face with its functioning hand, the other one having some difficulty moving.

Still, it wasn't completely helpless; Yuina darted in to capitalize, but the Shadow whirled around and slapped her straight across the face with the back of its newly grown hand, sending her tumbling to the ground. She didn't look that hurt, but the sheer force of it was enough that she was having trouble getting up.

Fuyuko was ready to risk another Dia on her, stepping towards her instinctively. She was their strongest fighter, and Fuyuko didn't care too much about if she got out of the fight. Healing and making sure everyone stayed alert were about all she could do to be useful, anyway. Before she could use her last bit of energy on Yuina, though, she caught the Primate turning back towards Saburo, now bleeding from one eye. At the very least, that part didn't appear to be regenerating - maybe because a rock was plugging it up.

"U-Uh... I'm sorry...?" Saburo gulped, summoning Tristram in front of himself like some sort of meatshield. A cruel grin came onto the Primate's face, and it began to charge.

That was enough for something inside Fuyuko to snap. She had her concerns ever since this whole thing started, but seeing her worst fears about to come to light was enough for her to react without thinking. If Yuina could barely take a hit from this thing, Saburo sure couldn't - and if anyone was going to make it out of this alive, he deserved to.

Fuyuko's body acted before she could even think, and she dashed straight towards Saburo, standing protectively in front of him. She didn't even flinch as the Primate shoulder-tackled her with its good arm, barely registering the pain before her vision went red.

***

Saburo stared in stunned shock at Fuyuko's body before him, stepping back. She was still breathing lightly, but the only movement she mustered after the blow was rolling over slightly and groaning. Even the Fluent Primate had some surprise visible on its face, though it was quickly replaced with cruel contempt as it turned its attention back to Saburo, stumbling just a bit due to the wounds finally starting to take their toll on its body.

Still, it wasn't enough for the Shadow to go down just yet. Saburo's eyes narrowed, and he thrust out one hand, with Tristram letting out a whining sound and shooting out a dark purple bolt at the Primate. The bolt coursed through the ape's body, crackling with energy...

... and ultimately doing nothing. Confused, the Primate looked down at itself before grunting, lunging towards Saburo with one fist raised - only to get clonked over the head and collapse to the ground. Caulfield floated over the fallen Shadow, and in another swift blow, knocked it to the side, sending it sliding across the ground with a surprising amount of force.

Yuina stumbled after her Persona, panting heavily - but managing to stay upright. Whatever Saburo did, it was enough that putting that much mental energy into Caulfield felt surprisingly less taxing than it would've normally. Coupled with a renewed Tarukaja spell, even though she knew she'd probably pass out as soon as this fight was over, she felt  _ alive _ . Adrenaline coursed through her veins like never before, everything almost seeming to move in slow motion around her.

"So, uh, Saburo, what the hell was that?" She pointed to Tristram.

"Oh! Uh, Rakunda, apparently. Wish I could tell you what it did." Saburo stepped in front of Fuyuko's body, holding his slingshot at the ready. "... Tristram says it made them weaker?"

"Yeah, I figured, considering how easy it was to push that thing around all of a sudden." Yuina darted to Fuyuko, hurriedly switching to another Persona. Luckily for Fuyuko, she had just found out she wasn't the only one with healing spells. "Kodama, help her out too."

_ "Yes, miss!" _ Kodama swirled around Fuyuko, and with a burst of green energy, her breathing steadied. 

The Persona user slowly got to her feet, coughing into her sleeve briefly as Kodama returned to Yuina's side. Her trademark smile came back onto her face as she flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Thanks for the save."

"Anytime." Yuina grinned, looking towards the Fluent Primate - which was struggling to get up. "How about we end this brawl?"

Both of her teammates nodded, and all of them struck at once. Just as the Primate turned around, Saburo fired another rock with pinpoint accuracy - straight into the Shadow's other eye, causing it to cover its face with both hands and howl. It stumbled around blindly, which gave Merricat the perfect opportunity to assault it with psionic blasts and forcing it to stumble to the ground once more.

Yuina wasted no time in switching Personas, letting Caulfield appear before her. With renewed vigor, she snapped her fingers, and her Persona dashed in, extending one fist forwards.

_ CRACK! _

With the force of a freight train, Caulfield punched the Fluent Primate hard enough in the head that it literally came off, collapsing to the ground and dissolving. The Shadow's headless body fell to the ground limply, disappearing shortly after into nothing but a plastic card.

Satisfied, Caulfield glanced down at where the Primate used to be.  _ "Stay out of our goddamn way next time." _

"Someone's got a flair for the dramatic." Fuyuko whistled sharply, making her way to the keycard and picking it up.

"And what, exactly, is wrong with that?" Saburo crossed his arms.

The three of them shared a chuckle before Fuyuko returned to the group, holding up the card. "So, this is our ticket to Shadow Shouhei, huh?"

Saburo nodded. "We should probably take some time to rest before we confront him directly. We did expend a lot of our strength on the Primate."

"I've got an idea." Yuina waved one hand, spinning on her heel to face the door. "I just need to talk with that receptionist we saw earlier for a sec... assuming she's still here." She looked around at the surrounding rooms, remembering the Shadow workers disappearing for no reason. "Let's go."

Much to her relief, when the group made their way back into the lobby area, the receptionist was still there - in fact, she was just taking some notes like nothing had happened. She looked up towards the group curiously.  **"How did your meeting go?"**

"Peachy." Yuina grinned, leaning forwards on the desk. "Hey, do you mind if we talk to Mr. Hayato? You got some kinda phone line or something?"

**"Ah, yes, I do have one!"** The receptionist, none the wiser, bent down and pressed a button underneath her desk. After a few seconds, she handed a weird phone-looking thing to Yuina, attached to the desk via a spiral-shaped cord.

Satisfied, Yuina held the phone up to her ear, registering her teammates waiting behind her. There was a crackle of static before Shadow Shouhei's barking voice came on the other end.  **_"What do you want? I've already got calls from three other floors and counting!"_ **

"Hey, it's me again." Yuina's tone didn't waver. "You got some kinda public break room?"   
  


**_"Floor 52. Stop wasting my time with pointless questions!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei barked in annoyance.

"Deal. After we get some R&R, we're gonna mop the floor with you." Yuina beamed. "Catch you later."

**_"... Hang on, wh - "_ **

Yuina cheerfully handed the phone back to the very confused receptionist. "C'mon, guys, let's chill. Floor 52 is where we're headed; then we go to the top." She made her way to the elevator, with Fuyuko swiping her card. The door slid open with a pleasant  _ ding, _ and the three made their way inside, leaning against the walls as Yuina hit the right button.

"Aren't you worried that threats like that are gonna get us ambushed by Shadows or something?" Saburo pointed out.

"What's to worry about?" Yuina shrugged nonchalantly. "They don't have any security guards."

Saburo opened his mouth, before coughing. "... Point taken."


	24. Stars and Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Not dead! If you've been on the Discord you'd know I was stuck in midterm hell. X< I worked a lot on this chapter, though, so I hope it's worth it!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 17 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

"I gotta admit, I was expecting weird Shadow crap, but they had some kickass food." As the Timekeepers stood in the elevator, Yuina casually munched on a cookie she had snagged from the break room, not paying the crumbs dropping to the floor any mind. As she pressed the button for the top floor, the elevator began to go up at a speedy pace, leaving the group with just a little more time to breathe.

Fuyuko nibbled on her own cookie from time to time, eating much less vigorously than Yuina. "Eh. I've had better cookies."

"They're different from my mom's, and that's okay by me!" Saburo chirped. Despite his words, he actually didn't have any cookies on hand, though he did have a paper cup filled with lemonade. He took a sip, reaching one hand inside his pocket. "So, uh... do we have much of a plan for Shadow Shouhei, or - "

"Nope." Yuina shrugged nonchalantly. "We don't even know what he's gonna do. He could have heavy artillery for all we know. Hell, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he fused with the building or something."

At that suggestion, Saburo glanced around at the surrounding walls, suddenly looking worried. "You  _ were _ joking, right?"

"I'll get back to you on that when he transforms, cause I doubt he's gonna peacefully hand Shouhei over." Yuina twirled her bat around, preemptively setting her watch to summon Caulfield. "What I  _ can _ say is that this is probably gonna be our toughest fight yet, and I really don't wanna come back to Kanako in a casket. So we've gotta go all out. You all with me?"

Despite Saburo's skittishness and Fuyuko's laziness, both of them had a glint in their eyes that told Yuina all she needed to know. She grinned wickedly. "Let's show this Shadow who's boss."

The three stood in silence until the elevator came to a stop. With another  _ ding, _ the doors slid open, revealing Shadow Shouhei's office.

Yuina had been trained to expect the unexpected when it came to Shadows, so she couldn't help but feel just a little disappointed at how...  _ mundane _ the office was. Sure, there were cabinets surrounding the walls, each loaded with trophies; and sure, there was a desk made of gold in the back of the room that was covered in a ridiculous amount of papers and office phones, but those were about the only notable things. Other than that, it looked like just about every cliche business office she could see.

However, that was nothing compared to the man himself. Shadow Shouhei sat behind the desk, leaning forwards in agitation with several of the phones pressed against both his shoulders and even more strewn across his arms. He had forgone his normal wear for a pure-gray ensemble of a business suit and tie, with his fedora missing and his hair even more well-groomed than usual. He even had a fat cigar resting on the side of his mouth, practically chomping down on it. It would've been a lot funnier if this wasn't someone Yuina knew.

Still, she managed to steel her nerves, stepping forwards. "Hey. We're he - "

**_"Chou, I want those appointments stat!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei barked into one phone, before slamming it down on the desk and immediately picking up one of the ones hanging over his arm.  **_"Haruko, get to the medbay! We've got a bunch of our security guards going insane with the boss gone!"_ ** He leaned against the other phone on his shoulder, pressing his face up against it.  **_"Yoshiro! Start on those analytics right away!"_ **

Yuina opened her mouth, ready to interrupt him, but decided against it. If she was going to get his attention, she'd make  _ sure _ she had his attention. She casually took a step forward and raised her bat, briefly looking over her shoulder to check on Saburo and Fuyuko. Both of them just seemed to be watching her closely, though Fuyuko raised an eyebrow. Yuina nodded to them both, whispering, "Cover me."

Then, she turned around and slammed her bat repeatedly into each phone on the desk.

_ WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! _

The sound was practically visceral to Yuina at this point. She could practically feel her friends flinching and could see Shadow Shouhei flinching as she totaled each phone, hitting them as hard as she would hit a grand slam. She didn't stop until the number pads on all of them were busted, and even then she gave one more a smack for good measure; she could've sworn a few of them were smoking from how hard she hit them. She stepped back, taking a deep breath to collect herself.

Then, she looked up at Shadow Shouhei, her eyes practically blazing. "Shouhei. The real one.  _ Now. _ "

Shadow Shouhei stared at her in stunned silence, the cigar falling from his mouth. He sat there, paralyzed, before slowly getting to his feet.  **_"... I see. So that's how it is, huh?"_ ** He turned around, huffing.  **_"You'd better come with me."_ **

Yuina didn't like where this was going, but she didn't really have much of a choice. After giving a reassuring nod to her teammates, she watched Shouhei press a button under his desk, noticing a ceiling panel in the corner of the room open. Just like that, a ladder dropped down, and Shadow Shouhei began to climb, disappearing out onto the roof.

Yuina began to follow, with Fuyuko behind, only to hesitate as Saburo cleared his throat. "Uh, can I go first?" As both girls turned to face him, he practically ran towards the ladder, climbing it hastily.

"Why did he..." Yuina caught herself mid-sentence, before slowly looking down at her skirt. "... Oh."

"Does he think a little peek is going to corrupt him or something?" Fuyuko and Yuina shared a laugh, before Fuyuko gestured towards the ladder. "After you." Yuina didn't even bother to comment on Fuyuko probably having an ulterior motive, just wordlessly climbing up.

Admittedly, it was a nice change of pace. Yuina had been indoors so long that the sudden fresh air hitting her face felt...  _ really _ good, even if time was frozen and she couldn't really feel the wind. It was a little hard to breathe with how high up they were, but that was hardly her biggest concern. What  _ was _ alarming was there being absolutely no guard rails surrounding the roof. One misstep and she'd meet a harder fall than the Shadow worker she had sent plummeting to his doom earlier.

She fought to ignore the churning in her stomach, stepping by the rest of her team and facing Shouhei. "So I'm guessing you're not just going to give Shouhei back?"

**_"Damn right!"_** Shadow Shouhei huffed, crossing his arms. The wind seemed to intensify around him, blowing through his hair and turning it a little messier than before. **_"Why would he want to go back to people like you, anyway? You're all old news."_**

"I, uh... don't even know who he is," Saburo murmured, before shaking his head, pointing his slingshot. "But these two do! Care to explain yourself?"   
  


**_"I know you two pretty well. Yuina Hisakawa. Fuyuko Miki. I know everyone around school."_ ** Shadow Shouhei began to pace back and forth, his hands moving behind his back.  **_"But I'm all going to leave you behind soon, y'know. I've gotten a free ride to a place far, far away from here! As far as I can tell, I'm the only one heading to that particular university. The old me viewed that as scary and frightening, having to leave all his friends. He couldn't handle the possibility of a new, bright future!"_ **

He lifted his head, slowly coming to a stop in front of the group again. His eye was twitching just slightly.  **_"But the new me embraces the future. This is a chance to start anew; without any distractions or old attachments! We have to look to the future if we're going to be successful - and that future is one of glorious opportunities!"_ **

Yuina stared blankly. "... Y'know, I used to think Shadows had a point, but everything that left your mouth was some serious  _ bullshit. _ " She raised her watch threateningly. "Do you really think pushing everyone away will work? You could literally just talk online or something!"

**_"And end up missing the time we could hang out in person?"_ ** Shadow Shouhei countered, smirking.  **_"What would you know about friendship, anyhow? You've probably got even more fleeting attachments!"_ **

That sentence stopped Yuina in her tracks, stunned. She was about to stammer out a reply, but Fuyuko cleared her throat. "Yuina might be rough around the edges, but she went through hell and back for someone she barely knew." She took a step forward, next to her friend. "I'm standin' with her on this one. If your idea of a friendship is just throwing 'em away when you can't talk with them the way you wanna, then you should probably reevaluate your priorities." Her eyes glinted - was that a hint of anger Yuina saw?

Saburo stepped next to her with a confident nod. "Agreed. I don't know you or what you're going through, and... frankly, I'm probably not going to any sort of higher education. But there have to be ways to keep in touch with your friends! And even if you think you'll drift apart, that's no reason not to create new memories with each other, right?"

Her friends' words were enough to relax Yuina. She smacked her bat into her palm. "Shouhei, if you can hear me... maybe I'm not taking your issues seriously enough. But letting this Shadow do things for you is  _ wrong. _ " Her eyes narrowed, shooting daggers directly at the Shadow. "And we're going to prove it to you, even if we gotta beat the devil out of you to do it."

Shadow Shouhei laughed, clapping his hands together.  **_"Finally! A challenge! Don't worry; I can put aside my important appointments for this."_ ** He took a few steps back, the aura around him intensifying.  **_"I can assure you that your complete termination is my number one priority! Let's go!"_ **

Too late, Yuina realized where he was. She stumbled forwards, reaching one hand out - only for Shouhei to leap backwards, straight off the building.

Yuina came to a stop at the edge, her other two teammates frantically catching up with her. Saburo peeked over her shoulder, practically choking. "Is... is he...?"

That was not a question Yuina wanted to answer. Feeling a pit of apprehension in her stomach, she nervously peeked over the edge of the building, her teammates peering over her shoulders - only to see something rushing straight up towards her at full speed. Yuina reacted quickly, spreading out her arms and shoving everyone back forcefully - just as the object zoomed straight into the air, hovering above the group. A massive gust of wind sent all three of the Timekeepers tumbling to the ground. Yuina groaned, pushing her palms up against the concrete beneath her and turning to see their assailant.

Her jaw gaped as she registered the massive shape slowly flapping its mechanical wings before the group. Shadow Shouhei had taken the form of a massive metal bird, ruby eyes glinting with malice. The feathers at the end of his wings looked sharp enough to cut through stone, and he even had what looked like turrets attached to the undersides of his wings, all of them revving up violently like gatling guns.

**_"I am a Shadow, the herald of change!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei spread his wings wide, circling above the party like a hungry vulture.  **_"When you're gone, I'll finally be free!"_ **

Yuina grabbed onto her bat and got to her feet, summoning Caulfield and taking a fighting stance. "Yeah? When you're gone, Shouhei will be free. Even trade. Caulfield, light him up."

Caulfield generated a fireball in his hand and chucked it like a fastball, but Shadow Shouhei swooped out of the way with a mighty flap of his wings, stabilizing himself in one spot. While it was enough for Saburo to quickly shoot a rock at him, the rock bounced harmlessly off his chest with a  _ plink! _ and the Shadow didn't even flinch. With a screech, he spread his wings and dove straight down, his wingspan easily extending longer than the entire roof.

Fortunately, everyone had just enough time to dive to the ground. Yuina had to resist gulping as Shouhei swooped straight over her, his bladed feathers inches from her face. Seeing just a tinge of light at the bottom of her vision, she hurriedly rolled around and swung her bat downwards, smashing into one of the turrets on the avian's wings with a satisfying clang. It didn't seem to do any real damage, but it was enough to briefly throw Shadow Shouhei's flight path off course, his metallic frame wobbling in the air briefly before stabilizing.

"Well, at least we can't call him cowardly for staying in the air!" Saburo stood up, reloading his slingshot and taking a step back cautiously.

"That's about the only time we can really hit him, though." Fuyuko's eyes had that focused look again as she stood up. "Plus, if he knocks us off, we're probably done for."

**_"Now you understand the position you're in, huh?"_ ** Shadow Shouhei taunted, his eyes glowing bright.  **_"You might've taken down my security, but let's see if you've got what it takes to play with the big boys!"_ **

Before Yuina could give her own scathing one-liner, she noticed  _ something _ loading itself into his wing turrets, besides the one she had hit. Expecting a spell or gunfire, she raised her bat in front of her like she was a samurai about to parry a blow, with Fuyuko adopting a similar pose - only for the both of them to be caught off guard as Shadow Shouhei launched a barrage of missiles into the air...

... wait, those weren't missiles. Those were other robot birds. Smaller ones, granted, but they soared through the sky before separating into three flocks, all of them hurtling towards each member of the Timekeepers. Yuina barely had time to see Saburo shoot one out of the air and Fuyuko summon Merricat before her eyes locked onto her own flock, and she braced herself, crouching down just a bit and slinging her bat above her shoulder. "Batter up."

Just as the squadron was about to collide with her, she stepped forwards and swung out her bat, smashing through a ton of them and sending them flying in various directions. Some slammed into the roof and exploded, some flew into the sky before dropping down like stones, and one of them even smashed into Shadow Shouhei's beak, causing him to squawk in annoyance. Unfortunately, her aim was just a little bit off, and one of them swiftly maneuvered around her bat, swerving behind her.

Yuina's head turned to follow it, but before she could fully turn around and catch the straggler, a sharp pain erupted in the back of her neck as she felt the small bird's sharp beak snap down. She let out a yell of pain, dropping her bat and grabbing onto it with both hands, ripping it off and tossing it to the ground - and for good measure, stomping on it once with her boot. She put her hands on her hips, glaring at the wreckage.

"Look out, Yuina!" Saburo's cry alerted her, but before she could react, Yuina felt something explode against her feet, sending her sky high in a flash of green. She flailed around in panic as she suddenly flew about ten feet in the air before crashing down against the roof, gritting her teeth as agony assaulted her body.

**_"Never turn your back on the enemy! Rookie mistake!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei practically howled with laughter before soaring above the party again, his movements predictable - yet controlled enough that when Fuyuko launched a Psi bolt his way, he dove to the side.

_ "You hit those birds out of the park and a goddamn Garu spell is what gets you?" _ Caulfield tutted.  _ "Yeesh, girl." _

"Very funny," Yuina hissed, shakily grabbing onto the rim of her watch and swapping out to Kodama. "Hey, h... heal me."

Her body was enveloped in colorless light, and she managed to get to her feet, feeling the pain from her crash turn dull. "Anyone got any plans to slow him down? I have a little something, but - "

"Don't worry 'bout it. I think Merricat's got this covered." Fuyuko slashed at one of the remaining small birds, watching it clank to the ground. She stepped closer to Yuina, keeping her voice low. "You might be able to slow him down, but you're the strongest of us. I need you to hold him still for a sec. Saburo, distract him so it's easier for her."

"I'll do my best!" Saburo summoned Tristram, raising his voice. "Hey! Uh... bird brain!" He sounded  _ way _ too proud of that insult as he waved towards Shadow Shouhei. "We just turned your 'big boys' into a scrap heap! Is that your idea of an elite force?"

Shadow Shouhei thankfully took the bait hook, line, and sinker, glaring down at the Persona user.  **_"Oh, you wanna see what I can REALLY do? How about I show you a special - EAUGH!"_ **

He let out a screech and covered his ruby eyes - which were flashing a lot brighter than normal, with some sparkles left in the air from the Kouha spell Saburo had nailed him with. "How's  _ that _ for a rookie mistake?" He smirked, raising his slingshot. "Yuina, go!"

Yuina didn't need to be told twice. With a flick of the wrist, she switched Personas and summoned Caulfield - as much as she wanted to grab Shouhei herself, she wasn't  _ that _ desperate. Caulfield had a far safer result, charging at the robotic avian and grappling onto his tail feathers tightly. The sudden grip was enough for Shadow Shouhei to start flapping his wings in panic, squawking in agitation down at the Persona.

"Fuyuko, you'd better do it fast...!" Yuina grit her teeth, feeling a tug on her mind as she tried her hardest to concentrate.

"Don't worry 'bout it. I gotcha." Fuyuko pointed her naginata, and Merricat shot out bolts of dark green energy that sank into Shouhei's chest. Relieved, Yuina dismissed Caulfield, feeling like a hand had stopped clenching itself around her brain.

Shadow Shouhei sprang into the air, wings flapping at a noticeably slower pace.  **_"Rgh! You'll pay for that!"_ **

"Hate to tell you, but I'm poor." Yuina whistled innocently, raising her bat. "You wanna fuck off yet?"

**_"It's not like it matters. The high ground's still mine!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei brought back his wings before swinging them forwards, shooting off a barrage of razor-sharp feathers towards the Timekeepers. While Saburo was able to dive out of the way, both Yuina and Fuyuko stumbled back defensively, the blades cutting at their skin - and Yuina even choked as one of the feathers found an unlucky mark, impaling her in the shoulder. She managed to pull it out without cutting her hand, feeling some relief that it didn't puncture deep enough to cause her to bleed... but also grunting as she noticed the hole in her shirt.

"This top's my favorite, y'know." Fighting through the pain in her arm, she tossed the feather aside. "Caulfield, go in."

Caulfield appeared behind her, lunging in towards Shadow Shouhei and clocking him straight across the face. He followed up with a kick to the underside of the beak, the metallic impact ringing through the area and sending the Shadow flying back slightly. Still, it didn't seem like it was enough to do significant damage, considering he glared straight at Caulfield before pecking him repeatedly in the stomach.

Yuina's bat clattered to the ground as she gripped her head tightly, feeling like someone was taking a hammer to her skull with every blow landed on her Persona. She fumbled for her watch before barely managing to press it in time, feeling the repeated pain slowly vanish - though there weren't any lasting injuries on  _ her, _ she somehow felt distinctly more fatigued than before. "Ugh..."

Taking a second to catch her breath, she glanced towards her teammates to see how they were doing. Saburo shot another Kouha bolt at Shadow Shouhei, but he knocked it aside with one of his wings before swooping down in another sweeping strike, albeit a slower one. Yuina instinctively dove for the ground again, but stared in surprise as Shouhei abruptly swooped upwards mid-charge, flying directly above the group - and just barely avoiding a Psi bolt from Fuyuko, the spell clipping his tail instead.

**_"I hope you all read the forecast, because there's a storm tonight!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei spread his wings, his eyes changing from red to green.

Too late, Yuina realized what that meant. She barely managed to swap Personas to Kodama as Shadow Shouhei flapped his wings downwards, shooting off a massive green blast that enveloped the entire roof before exploding in a burst of violent wind energy. Even with the wind resistance Kodama provided, Yuina barely managed to keep her footing, planting one hand on the ground and fighting to keep steady through the pain in her head.

Her teammates, on the other hand, were not so lucky. Saburo and Fuyuko were immobilized by the initial blast and then thrown up by the explosion, slamming down onto the roof like ragdolls. Both of them struggled to get up, with Fuyuko even audibly groaning.

_ Shit...! _ Yuina ran to the both of them, relieved they were roughly in the same place. She kept an eye on Shadow Shouhei in the background, just in case he tried a surprise attack. "You guys okay?"

"... Kinda dizzy," Fuyuko murmured, bringing one hand to her head. Still, she managed to get up, leaning against Yuina for support. "Haven't really... went this hard at all."

Saburo seemed a little better off, climbing to his feet without any help. "I'll be fine, but I don't think we'll be able to take many more hits like that. Him being above us is just too much of an advantage." His eyes narrowed as he looked up at Shadow Shouhei, who was circling them hungrily once more. "We need to either get to his level or bring him down to us."

Yuina pursed her lips. They didn't really have much time to think, but she tried to take into account what had happened so far. Shadow Shouhei could easily defend himself against their spell attacks, but he had way more trouble when someone was up close and personal, if Caulfield's blows to his face were any indication...

... Hm...

Yuina spun towards Shouhei, summoning Caulfield once more. "Hey, guys, it's dumb idea time."

"Oh, boy..." Saburo gulped, but nonetheless raised his slingshot. "What's the plan?"

"Just cover me for a bit. He'll give me an opening soon enough. Aim for the wings." Yuina didn't want to give too much away, especially considering she wasn't sure how much Shouhei could hear, so she prayed her teammates would react quickly enough.

**_"Whatever opening you think you can get, it won't work!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei cackled, cawing in triumph as the cannons on his wings began loading themselves. Anticipating some more baby bird missiles, Yuina brought her bat back for another grand slam, only to pause as Shadow Shouhei launched them out in different formations. Rather than all being clustered together, they were spread out across the sky, spinning around in the air before locking onto their target from different angles. It gave them more time to react, but she still needed to think of something fast...

Fortunately, her teammates did just as she asked and kept her covered, with their Personas firing off blasts of light and psychic energy into the sky and blowing up a good few headed her way. Yuina responded in kind, spotting one lunging towards Saburo from the side and dashing forwards, hitting a hasty slam that sent the miniature bird slamming into another one and causing both of them to explode. The sheer amount of shrapnel in the air was enough to throw the remaining birds off course, causing them to miss their marks and either go tumbling down below or swoop into the air shakily for another pass.

This time, Yuina was sure to keep an eye on Shadow Shouhei - and not a moment too soon, as she noticed him flapping his wings back with the tips of his feathers glistening dangerously. Not only that, but one of the birds was heading straight for her. Thinking fast, she yelled, "Everyone, behind me!"

Saburo and Fuyuko hurriedly dashed behind her, and Yuina tossed her bat on the ground before grabbing onto the mechanical bird by the throat. Ignoring its squawks, she whipped around and held it up like a shield, barely managing to protect herself in time as Shouhei launched another blast of sharp feathers. While a few of them got past her impromptu barrier, with one even nicking her ear, most of them slammed straight into the living shield, sticking out of it like quills on a porcupine. She nodded in satisfaction as both of her teammates took care of the rest of the mini-birds headed their way, before turning her attention to the main threat at hand - who was glancing down at her with utter awe.

**_"My baby!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei shrieked in horror.  **_"What have you done?!"_ **

"Hey,  _ you _ fired the shots." Yuina hurriedly switched Personas, seeing her chance while Shadow Shouhei was freaked out. Summoning Succubus behind her, she raised the metal corpse above her head, and with a giggle, her Persona fired an Eiha blast straight into it, the force launching it with pinpoint precision straight into the Shadow's face. She grinned as a satisfying  _ TONK! _ rang out through the area, Shouhei flapping his wings violently and attempting to stay afloat.

At this point, she could've stopped, but... if they wanted any chance of getting ground on him, they needed to be risky, and Yuina knew just what to do. Swapping Personas yet again, she brought Caulfield to the forefront. "Bring him down!"

Caulfield snorted.  _ "You sure that's a good idea?" _

"Who's the boss here, you or me?" Yuina scowled at her Persona.

_ "Don't say I didn't warn you." _ Caulfield shrugged before dashing in, grabbing onto Shadow Shouhei's tail and pulling down as tightly as he could. Yuina felt that tug on her mind again, but instead of trying to resist it, she fought  _ with _ it, channeling as much mental energy as she could into getting Caulfield to pull Shadow Shouhei down. Unfortunately, even with how hard she was fighting, she could already see Caulfield's grip slipping as Shouhei flapped his wings, desperately trying to break free. "G-Guys...!"

"Right!" Both Saburo and Fuyuko had been staring at her in surprise, but shook their reveries off in favor of attacking. Saburo shot a rock straight into Shadow Shouhei's eye, and Fuyuko shot another Psy bolt into his chest, which was just enough to tip his concentration over the edge. Yuina let out a guttural yell, and Caulfield yanked Shadow Shouhei down with all of his strength, sending the massive avian crashing to the roof.

Any sense of triumph Yuina would've felt from that was overshadowed by the fatigue in her brain. She sank to one knee, panting - she wasn't really  _ hurt, _ but she sure was exhausted. "W-Wings..." she managed to croak out.

Thankfully, the other two members of the Timekeepers understood. Saburo thrust one hand forward. "Tristram, slice it!"

"Merricat, do your thing." Fuyuko yawned, and though her voice was nonchalant, her eyes glinted with satisfaction.

**_"H-Hey! Hang on... let's talk about thi - AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei's pleading was cut off by a violent shriek as Tristram leapt onto one wing, stabbing straight into it with its insect legs, and Merricat slashed the other wing repeatedly with a catlike yowl. Both of their strikes left behind visible sparks - and Yuina could even see broken wires underneath the torn metal. Both Personas hopped off, returning to their users as Shouhei's wings began to smoke.

"No more flying." Yuina stepped forwards, raising her bat. "You had enough?"

**_"You murder my receptionist, kill my chief of security, and then have the gall to come up here and RUIN MY WINGS?"_ ** Despite sounding injured, Shadow Shouhei was more spirited than ever, digging his claws into the ground and snarling like a wild animal.  **_"I'm just getting started!"_ **

Even though they had gained a significant advantage, Yuina wasn't going to let her guard down again, keeping herself ready for any other tricks Shouhei might pull off. Instead of anything fancy, though, he just lunged at her and snapped with his beak, forcing her to jump back. Fuyuko darted forwards with her naginata, but the Shadow swung sideways, blocking the blow with his tail - which he promptly slashed with like a blade, cutting across Fuyuko's chest.

Unfortunately, he had left himself facing Saburo, who glared at him before thrusting one hand forward. Tristram leapt out from behind him, cleaving at the avian with both claws and cutting straight through the metal with some visible gashes. Shadow Shouhei hissed, shrinking back reflexively.

Yuina dashed to help Fuyuko, but Merricat was already licking her cheek, sending healing energy through her. Fuyuko's posture straightened, and she rubbed her eyes. "So we've got him on the ropes?"

"Something like that. We just have to keep the pressure on him." Yuina was about to say more, but was forced to leap to the side as Shadow Shouhei slammed down one claw where she was. she raised her bat threateningly and slammed it down on his hand before he could retract it, earning a pained screech in response.

Fuyuko nodded, her eyes narrowing. "If that's the case, everyone, stay spread out. He can't focus on all of us."

Indeed, Fuyuko's intuition was correct. Panicking, Shadow Shouhei lunged at Yuina once more, but she just sidestepped and watched as Fuyuko stabbed him straight in the side with her naginata, creating even more visible wounds. If that wasn't enough, Saburo shot a rock straight into one of the wounds Tristram had created, lodging it firmly in between and causing some violent shrieking from the Shadow. He managed to pull the rock out, but it was obvious that had heavily wounded him, as evidenced by both his eyes occasionally flickering.

**_"Is this REALLY fighting fair?"_** Shadow Shouhei protested, glancing around nervously at the Persona users surrounding him. **_"Underhanded business practices like these will never get you hired!"_**

"What the fuck were you expecting, jackass?" Yuina retaliated flatly. "You hijacked a guy's body and pressured him into letting you take control of his life. Do you really expect us to play fair?"

Shadow Shouhei stared at her for a bit longer, before chuckling sinisterly.  **_"Is that the case? Well, then... I have one last trick up my sleeve. You're sure to enjoy it."_ ** He opened his beak, and a red light began to shine inside. Not wanting to give him any time to charge up whatever he was doing, Yuina dashed forwards, ready to smack him in the throat.

Thus, she was completely unprepared when he abruptly whipped towards Fuyuko.  **_"Let's go for a ride, kid!"_ ** Before Yuina or Saburo could react, the Shadow tackled Fuyuko straight in the chest, grappling onto her with both claws and going flying off the edge of the building.

"F-Fuyuko!" Yuina's confidence vanished in an instant, and she peered over the edge of the building in panic. Her breathing hitched, gradually picking up speed. The reality of the situation abruptly sank in all at once - she felt dizzy from how hard she was hyperventilating, the world spinning around her. She had been tricked by a stupid fakeout, and now her teammate was plummeting down several hundred floors to her death, with no chance to save her.

... No. She  _ refused _ to let Fuyuko die.

"Saburo, don't follow me." Yuina set her bat down on the roof, clenching her fists and taking a few steps back.

"Uh, Yuina..." Saburo's tone was enough to get her to hesitate for just a second. He didn't just sound worried, he sounded outright traumatized. Looking back at his face only served to confirm her suspicions; his face was pale and he was biting his lip hard enough Yuina was surprised there wasn't blood coming out.

But ultimately, her concern for her friend won out. "See you on the other side." Before Saburo could protest any longer, Yuina dashed for the edge of the building and, without stopping once, leapt down.

Yuina had fallen from big heights before - in fact, she had literally been launched up high and smashed into the ground just a few moments ago - but that was nothing compared to this. She could feel the wind intensifying around her, blowing through her clothing and going hard enough that she felt like it was going to blow off her face. Still, she brought her arms next to her, eyes narrowing as she locked onto the massive metal shape beneath her - which was getting closer by the second; both of Shadow Shouhei's wings were spread, presumably to slow his descent a bit. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him holding Fuyuko in one hand, raising the other to stab at her forehead.

_ Not on my watch! _ "Hey, asshole!" Yuina yelled, causing Shadow Shouhei to turn up to look at her in surprise. Yuina curled up into a ball, hugging her knees and feeling the world spin around her - and just as she was about to smash into the Shadow, she stuck out her legs, dropkicking him straight in the face. She dug her boots into his stupid beak as far as she could, feeling her descent get noticeably quicker - up until it abruptly began to stop, causing her to wobble and nearly get thrown off as her momentum ran out. She stumbled back before bending down and grabbing onto Shadow Shouhei's beak, dangling off it like a lock of stray hair.

As she, the Shadow, and Fuyuko came to a stop, Yuina carefully surveyed her surroundings. They were much closer to the ground than before, but they were still about fifty floors up - a fall from this height spelled death. Shadow Shouhei had attached himself to the building with one of his front and one of his back claws, still clutching Fuyuko in the other like a trophy. Both of his ruby eyes glowered at Yuina.  **_"You think you can just hitch a ride?"_ **

"Yuina..." Fuyuko stared at her in awe. "Did you seriously throw yourself off a - "   
  


"Yes. To both of those questions." Even though she was one wrong move away from getting her head snapped off or being chucked into the dirt, Yuina glared defiantly at the Shadow. "Hand Fuyuko over. And Shouhei, while you're at it. Otherwise I'm gonna blow your fucking head off."

Her words carried the usual venom behind them, but internally she could only hope that Shouhei didn't call her bluff. She didn't really have much of a plan for how to get down from here - making it to ground level without turning into a pancake relied entirely on Shadow Shouhei, considering none of her Personas could help her make it down safely...

... at least, that was what she assumed. An idea popped into her mind. Still, even if her plan worked, Fuyuko didn't have any way of getting down...

**_"I'd love to see you try!"_ ** Shadow Shouhei's squawking jolted her out of her thoughts, and his beak abruptly squeaked open, causing Yuina to jolt upwards slightly. The inside of his mouth started glowing again, and this time, Yuina was sure it wasn't a fake-out. But one thing was for sure: like before, she wasn't going to give him a chance to charge up.

Abruptly, she let go of Shadow Shouhei's beak with one arm, fighting to keep a grip on it with the other. Ignoring the sensation of her arm feeling like it was about to be yanked off, she pressed the button on her watch, summoning Caulfield. Before she could even give him a command, Caulfield created a fireball in one hand and chucked it right into Shadow Shouhei's throat, causing an explosion.

The good news: he not only screamed in pain, his charging coming to a halt, but he let go of the building, the blow causing him to start falling again. The bad news: he not only writhed hard enough that Yuina lost her grip on his beak, but he let go of Fuyuko. While he fell at a much faster rate than they did, going beneath the two in a matter of seconds, Yuina and Fuyuko were still headed straight for the ground.

_ WHOOOOOOM! _

Yuina watched Shadow Shouhei crater into the ground, wincing at the massive cloud of dust kicked up around him. If that was what happened to him, then there was no way they had  _ any _ chance of living though this, unless her plan worked.

"Hey, Yuina?" Despite falling to what very well could have been her death, Fuyuko sounded as calm as ever. Yuina even saw a smile on her face as she tumbled through the air.

"Yeah?" Yuina fought to remain calm. How the hell did Fuyuko stay like this? Even if she probably wasn't nearly as chill as she seemed underneath, it was amazing how her facade didn't even break. As far as she knew, Fuyuko had no way to save herself...

"I've got a plan for myself. Can't say I can help you, though." Fuyuko clumsily pressed down on her watch, summoning Merricat beside her. The feline Persona came without its stack of books, simply levitating beside her as they drew ever closer to the ground. By the looks of it, they had about ten seconds before they splattered. "You got something in mind?"

Yuina was stunned enough that she almost lost precious time, but managed to shake herself out of her funk and swapped Personas. Succubus appeared above her, descending at the same rate she did - albeit far more gracefully. "Yeah. I think. But it's a dumb idea."

"Those are the best kind." Fuyuko flashed her a grin. Then, she whistled sharply. "Yo, Merricat, use psychic powers on me."

Yuina watched in awe as Merricat yowled towards the sky, surrounding Fuyuko in an aura of psychic energy and slowing her descent. She went from terminal velocity to gradually drifting down like a feather, righting herself in midair and yawning lightly. Just like that, she was fine; even though the aura flickered out and dropped her a bit unceremoniously above ground level, she was close enough that despite grunting, she didn't look to have any visible injuries.

Yuina was stuck watching her long enough that Fuyuko looking up towards her in concern jolted her out of her surprise. Right. She had to save herself. "Succubus!"

Succubus giggled before swooping down and grabbing onto Yuina's shoulders, managing to slow her descent just as much, if not far less daintily than Fuyuko. Immediately, Yuina felt a massive wave of fatigue wash over her, but she fought to maintain her concentration. Just a little longer. The ground drew closer... closer...

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. Succubus faltered before flickering out of the air, causing Yuina to drop unceremoniously to the ground just like her teammate. It wasn't from that high up, but she did still feel a flash of dull pain as she landed, groaning and staring towards the sky.

She... she was alive. She had nearly passed out from the energy needed to do that, but... here she was, still breathing... and her heart was still beating. She could still move, even if it was sluggishly. She... wasn't dead.

Nervously, she rolled over to face Fuyuko - who was also curled up against the ground. Her momentary sense of fear was quickly snuffed out as she looked up at Yuina, smiling tiredly. "I could go for a nap."

Yuina coughed, feeling some of the dust from Shouhei's landing getting into her lungs, but nonetheless stared back at her. She laughed weakly, rubbing her eyes. "... I could too." With what little energy she had left, she began to get up. "Let's... get out of - "

A claw slammed down right next to her.  **_"You're staying here."_ **

Yuina's blood went cold as she stared down at the metallic appendage, before slowly looking up and flinching abruptly as she saw Shadow Shouhei looming over her. He was in terrible shape - his wings were both bent and torn, with one of them even having part of it snapped off; his beak was dented hard enough that its formerly pointy edges were completely flat; one of his eyes was cracked and the other was missing entirely, and the gashes in his body had not only been split open in a much larger fashion, but were sparking from time to time. But even with all of those injuries, stacking up to the point where a single fireball from Caulfield looked like it would topple him over, Shadow Shouhei's head was high as he stared down at her, a low growl coming from his throat.

Yuina reached for her watch feebly, only for Shadow Shouhei to knock her hand aside and pin it to the ground. She was ready to do the watch slam maneuver she had performed against Shadow Saburo, but she could barely move her arm. She noticed Fuyuko feebly trying to crawl towards her, but there was no way she could make it in time.

Shadow Shouhei hissed, raising his other claw straight for her head.  **_"You've... taken everything from me. And now I'm going to take... everything... from you!"_ ** He brought his claw down towards Yuina's face, talons clenched as if he was about to tear it off. Yuina shut her eyes instinctively, feeling a sense of dread run through her mind - 

\- only for a loud  _ SHING! _ to cut through the air, accompanied by the ripping of wires.

Yuina held her position for a moment before slowly opening her eyes, flinching at the claw stuck inches from her face. She slowly looked up at Shadow Shouhei, noticing a mass of wires sprouting out of his neck - and his head completely gone. Slowly, she turned to see Tristram nearby, both of its claws having bits of rubber on them - and Shadow Shouhei's head on the opposite side, eyes completely shut down as it rested on the ground. Slowly, the head began to disintegrate into nothing, with the rest of Shadow Shouhei's body following, starting from the neck down and moving through.

Yuina didn't dare move until the talons outstretched for her face were completely gone; only then did she roll over weakly, spotting Saburo approaching the two frantically. "S-Saburo? How... how did you - "

"Elevator," Saburo responded without missing a beat, bending down to Yuina frantically. "Are you okay? Did you break anything? I, erm, I know some basic first aid, if we can find a kit - "

"I'm... fine." Yuina felt a single emotion overtake the storm of violent feelings she had experienced throughout that whole fight - relief. She let her arm drop by her side, grinning. "I'm serious. Just, uh... really, really tired. We had to... pull some bullshit to get down here safely."

Saburo looked her over for a few moments, before cautiously nodding. He ran to Fuyuko next, bending down. "You're fine too?"

"Does feeling alive count as fine?" Fuyuko slowly sat up, pressing her hands against the ground to steady herself.

"I'd... consider that a good thing, yes!" Saburo stepped in between them, looking at both of his teammates, before sighing. "Yuina... you scared me half to death. When you just jumped off there, I thought for sure - "

"Look, I know I've got... a shit track record, but I'm not as dumb as I look." Yuina decided not to mention that she had come up with her plan for survival entirely on the fly, instead getting to her feet unsteadily. Saburo stepped forwards to help steady her, later doing the same for Fuyuko - though he wobbled a bit due to supporting the weight of two people, he seemed determined to keep the both of them steady.

"I'm... glad the both of you are okay. If either of you had..." Saburo choked up briefly. Even though he was acting strong, Yuina could easily see the tears in his eyes; it was enough to make her heart soften up a bit. "... You're both the only people I really know, and..."

"Chill, dude. We're alive." Fuyuko patted Saburo's back gently. "Yuina risked her life so that I'd be okay. I'd prolly be bird food if she hadn't jumped off that building."

"I'll, uh...  _ try _ not to do anything that stupid in the future, okay?" Despite her fatigue, Yuina's eyes glinted with determination. "But I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Trust me."

"Hey, man - I don't know who you are, but you're a serious ladykiller."

All three of them jolted in surprise, turning to see Shouhei lying where his mechanical Shadow had been. He looked to be in the best shape out of all of them, standing up straight and grinning towards Saburo. "Seriously, you're giving me a run for my money here."

"... What?" Saburo looked puzzled.

"Oh my god, Shouhei." Yuina facepalmed, feeling some of her energy come back to her as she saw that he was okay. Much like Fuyuko, he seemed to be taking things relatively well, but just to be safe, she took a step forward. Her legs wobbled a bit, but she managed to stay standing, also freeing Saburo of some of the weight on his shoulders. "... You okay?"

Shouhei's smirk turned into a neutral expression. He sighed, bringing one hand to his hat. "... It's a lot to take in. I got over the 'wow, it's supernatural!' bit when my Shadow was taunting me, but... the fact that you guys went all this way and fell off a  _ building _ just to rescue me is seriously cool." He flashed them a more sincere smile. "You guys are rad."

"You're seriously okay with all of this, huh?" Yuina raised an eyebrow.

Shouhei shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm just happy I'm... well, alive. Gotta look on the bright side."

"Fair enough." Yuina was about to say more, but a movement behind him got her to peek over his shoulder. "... Hey, uh. You may wanna get closer to us."

Shouhei didn't even question her, darting over to the Timekeepers - only when he was within a safe distance did he turn around. The movement behind him was his Shadow, which was pitifully crawling to a sitting position, looking utterly exhausted - his formerly fancy clothing was torn to shreds. "Is... is this safe?"

Whereas normally Yuina would've raised her bat, given her last two experiences, she already knew what to expect... and, well, she didn't have her bat at the moment. Forcing that thought out of her mind, she turned to Shouhei. "Whether he's safe is for you to decide."

Shouhei swallowed, before slowly nodding. He approached his doppelganger, making sure not to stray too far from the team of Persona users. "... You realize your, uh... business practices aren't the best now, right?"

**_"Not the best?"_ ** Shadow Shouhei echoed bitterly.  **_"I did all of this for you, and you're just going to dismiss it like that? I was trying to help you look to the future. You wouldn't have to worry about what you left behind if you kept moving forward."_ **

"Yeah. I guess, in a way, you're right." Shouhei smirked. "Maybe things won't be the same when I go to college. There'll be plenty of changes I have to adjust to and all that. But it's a cross I'm willing to bear... and just because I might miss my friends doesn't mean I have to completely let go of the past. We've got plenty of ways of keeping in touch, and... even if it's not the same, it's better than nothing."

Shadow Shouhei raised an eyebrow. Slowly, he stood up to meet his real counterpart, holding out one hand for a businesslike handshake.  **_"... If that's what you believe, then I'm going to hold you to that. Don't let the past distract you from the great things you can achieve. Deal?"_ **

"Deal." Shouhei shook his Shadow's hand without hesitation. "Let's rock."

Satisfied, Yuina let her hand drop from her watch as Shadow Shouhei dissolved into blue light, the azure particles swirling around and converging into a smaller being. With a flash of light, Shouhei's new Persona presented itself... and at first, Yuina wasn't impressed. It was just a brown hawk - nothing exciting. However, as more details formed on its body from the leftover light, she noticed more and more about it - such as the wings being completely made of straw... and the fact that, despite the slight damages on the wings, the Persona was keeping itself in the air with ease. Its eyes formed into the same rubies the Shadow had, but glowed with a friendlier aura instead of the malice she had seen before. To top it all off, the final bits of the Shadow's remains formed into a hat identical to Shouhei's resting atop the little bird's head.

"Well, hey there, little fella." Shouhei grinned, extending one arm. "I'm guessing you're my... Persona?"

_ "I am thou... thou art I. I am Huck." _ Huck gently landed on Shouhei's outstretched arm, nuzzling up against his shoulder.  _ "Create your own time... no matter what stands in your way." _ With an affectionate caw, the Persona vanished, leaving behind a brown watch on Shouhei's wrist.

"Dude, you didn't even flinch." Fuyuko whistled sharply. "I guess you did see us tossing around our Personas like it was nothing."

"Yeah, like I said, the supernatural novelty kinda wore off by this point." Shouhei shrugged, looking up at the towering skyscraper before him. "So... this is gonna go away, right? It'll be back to our normal school and all that?"

At that, Yuina felt a surge of panic. "... Hey, uh, is there any way we can get to the top floor before this place disappears? I... I kinda left my bat up th - "

"Oh! I have you covered." Saburo stepped closer to Yuina, pointing towards the skyscraper entrance. "When you dropped it up there, I didn't want to just leave your bat behind, so... before getting in the elevator, I picked it up! And when I got out, I set it down right next to me."

Much to Yuina's relief, her eyes flicked to where Saburo was pointing, and she spotted her bat lying in the dust. Practically scrambling over to get it, she swiped it up and slung it over her shoulder despite the fact that she was still tired enough to nearly fall over. "... Saburo, you're the fucking best. Seriously."

"I try." Saburo sheepishly grinned, raising his watch. "... Well, uh... shall we go?"

"We'll explain this whole mess a little better when we're outta here," Fuyuko reassured Shouhei. "I'm gonna have to get a new naginata, though. Hopefully sensei doesn't get too mad about the other one being chucked into the forest somewhere."

"Just tell him you were fighting a robo-bird. Easy." The four Persona users all chuckled, before pressing down on their watches and vanishing from sight.


	25. Rise Above

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! New chapter! Now that I'm out of midterms hell AND we're past the fight chapter, I'll have some great chapters for you. In particular... look forward to Chapter 28~ Enjoy this little breather!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 17 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

Though she didn't want to say it out loud, especially right after rescuing Shouhei, Yuina had a feeling she was going to regret inviting him to the team. After he had accepted his Persona with minimal hassle, however, she had started to have second thoughts. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad with him around. It'd probably be good to have a smart kid on the team in the first place; sure, Kanako was there to help outside of the Ticking Hell, but someone to actively assist  _ in _ there was a big blessing.

It was only when they got back did she remember why she had concerns in the first place.

"Could you guys pay attention?" She crossed her arms, glancing around at the rest of her teammates. Saburo was the only one actively participating - Fuyuko and Shouhei were occasionally trading suggestive looks, and whenever Shouhei so much as glanced Kanako's way, she smiled shyly and averted eye contact. Honestly. "I'm trying to explain this whole Persona thing."

  
"It's not that complicated, though. You made things pretty clear, and I'm down for taking out some Shadows." Shouhei shrugged, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back. "Besides, we're not in any rush or anything."

Fuyuko smirked, closing her eyes in contentment. "Definitely not."

"I swear, I'm going to smack the hormones out of everyone one day," Yuina grumbled, crossing her arms. "Kanako, I know you feel like you're meeting a prince, but we've got some  _ important _ stuff to talk about."

"H-Hey!" Kanako protested. "That's totally not it! I'm just... happy to have a new member on the team."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Even Saburo had caught on, glancing at her slightly rosy cheeks.

Deciding to rerail the conversation before it ended in something stupid like a group hug, Yuina tapped her bat against the table. "So, Shouhei. I know you're super cool about everything. Take things in stride and all that, it's great. But are you  _ really _ sure about this? It's not just cool fighting. I literally jumped off a fucking building to make things work."

"You act like that's discouraging." Shouhei flashed a grin.

Slightly frustrated, Yuina took a deep breath. "... Okay, what I mean to say is... are you taking this seriously at all?"

"Sure. I know I don't really look like it, but I just don't see the need to make a big deal out of it." Shouhei made eye contact with Yuina. "Calling this whole thing risky is an understatement, but if I sit back while I've got the power to help you guys, then... I dunno, I feel like I'm at fault. I'm more than willing to put my life on the line if it means making sure other people don't end up in the same situation I was. If I really got possessed by a Shadow over missing people at college, then there's gonna be even worse things in store."

Finally. The response Yuina wanted to hear. She finally smirked back, nodding. "Then we're happy to have you here."

"Also, I feel like you guys just need the help." Shouhei chuckled, brushing his hair back with one hand. "No offense. It's just... you were kinda scrambling in that fight. One person gets dragged off and you're ready to throw yourself off a building. Literally."

"I  _ dare _ you to tell me that's not badass," Yuina retorted, her confident expression not faltering. As most of the group chuckled, she glanced over to Saburo, noticing him just staring down at his slingshot. "... Uh, dude, you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm just thinking, is all." Saburo looked up from his lap, staring at Shouhei for a brief second before turning his attention back to the team as a whole. Yuina could've sworn he was looking at him almost... suspiciously. "So we have a new teammate?"

"Only if you're okay with it. I don't wanna just drag someone in here without everyone's consent and all." Yuina shrugged, deciding not to directly bring up what she had seen. Given how this was Saburo she was talking to, he'd probably spill what was on his mind without even - 

"Oh, no, I'm completely fine with Shouhei joining! It's not that. It's just, erm..." Saburo pursed his lips, before leaning towards Shouhei. "Yes, you're cool. You have above-average fashion sense and most of the girls are head over heels for you." He didn't stop talking even as Kanako let out a squeaking noise, raising one finger. "But I'd just like you to keep in mind that  _ I'm _ the Shadow expert here. I've been at this Persona business for longer than even Yuina. So just... know your boundaries, is all. You know, everyone has something to provide, and you can... look cool and be cool."

Shouhei stared blankly at Saburo before turning to Yuina. "Can I get a translation on that?"

"Saburo, are you  _ serious? _ " Yuina couldn't help herself; she burst into childlike giggles, covering her mouth with both hands. "Shouhei's not gonna replace you or anything."

Fuyuko shrugged with a chuckle. "Hey, hey. A little rivalry never hurt anyone. 'Sides, Shouhei can't beat Saburo with that slingshot. Dude could shoot a gun out of someone's hand."

That comment got Yuina to light up. "Hey, actually. Shouhei, you're probably gonna want a weapon or something so you don't gotta rely on Huck to do all the work. Personas are great and all, but they'll tire you out pretty fast if you use them too much. Do you have anything in mind? Kendo stick, kitchen knife... basically anything you can get your hands on will probably work."

Shouhei tapped his chin briefly. "I've got some hunting boomerangs back at home. They'll probably do the trick."

" _ Boomerangs? _ " Yuina blinked. "You mean... like, boomerang boomerangs? Throw them and they come back boomerangs? Aren't those toys?"

"Hunting boomerangs are dangerous, Yuina," Kanako piped up, peeking out from behind her notebook. "They can kill people if properly thrown."

"Well, yeah, but... you could kill someone with, like, a paper cup if you hit them hard enough." While she was still skeptical, Yuina decided to let her concerns go for now, just sighing and folding her hands on her lap. "If you think it'll work, go ahead. You're the guy with the boomerangs; I ain't gonna tell you how well they'll take down Shadows."

Shouhei just smiled before straightening, stretching his arms out. "It's good to be on the team. Anything else you guys wanna go over?"

Yuina shook her head. "I think we're good. I don't really have anything else I wanna talk about. We're pretty much just gonna have to wait until the next person with Countdown shows up." While she didn't have anything she really wanted to discuss with her team, there  _ was _ something she wanted to discuss with... certain other people who had offered their services.

Eh. She'd worry about that tomorrow. Flashing a grin towards everyone, she gestured. "We up for dinner at my mom's place? She'll probably be happy that I have some friends over."

"Are you sure she'd be okay with all of us being there?" Saburo asked uncertainly, scratching his head. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Oh, don't worry. She'll just be happy Yuina has friends over." Kanako giggled, elbowing Yuina playfully.

"Bitch." Yuina smirked. "She's right, though. Let's get going."

**~~ RANK UP! - FOOL ARCANA: THE TIMEKEEPERS ~~**


	26. Things To Come

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone - here's the next chapter! Also, happy Halloween! Not much to say here; I hope you enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_??? _

_??? _

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room." _

When Yuina was entering the Velvet Room of her own volition, that phrase was considerably less mystical and more like a casual greeting from Pinocchio's granddad. She waved to both Igor and Adam, taking a seat in front of them with a sigh. "Yo."

Adam backed away from her a little timidly, resulting in a smirk. "Easy, scrap heap. I'm not gonna pound you in or anything."

" Oh, I know, it's just... the aura you give off... " Adam nervously folded his metal hands behind his back. " Surprisingly, you've actually grown quite a bit. "

"Indeed. If I didn't know better, I might have mistaken you for another guest." Igor chuckled softly, leaning forwards. "Do you have business with us today?"

"Actually, yeah. I just finished mopping up some spare Shadows." Yuina rolled her shoulders, leaning back a bit. "I got a couple new Personas, but it's getting kinda crowded in here." She tapped at her forehead with one hand. "So I thought I'd visit you guys, since you said you could help fuse 'em together, right? I've been forming a couple, uh..." What had they called them? "... Social Links. Yeah. So that'll help, I think."

Igor nodded approvingly. "Say no more." With a wave of his hand, he produced five cards on the desk he was seated at, flipping them over with what looked like magic. Even though it was hardly impressive compared to what Yuina had seen so far, she couldn't resist watching in awe as each card flipped over on its own, a small blue image of each of her Personas appearing above. Caulfield, Succubus, and Kodama were visible on three of them, of course. The other two were the new ones she had acquired - one was a half-naked angel with black straps covering most of its body and its eyes, and the other was a red-skinned fairy in white with multicolored wings.

Igor observed them for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Fascinating... Hua Po and Angel..." 

He idly pushed Caulfield's card to the side. Yuina was about to question him until she remembered what they had said last time about him being unable to participate in fusion. Not that she really cared at this point, though - he had gotten her out of so many sticky situations, it'd feel like sacrificing her bat. "What about 'em?"

Igor pushed the other two cards to the side, using two fingers to bring the remaining two closer together. "You may find their fusion... intriguing." Hua Po and Angel dissolved into blue mist, their images forming in between the two cards to form a new, humanoid figure.

To say the least, he wasn't kidding. Yuina gaped in awe as she observed the potential result of them fusing together: a tall skeleton in green, with white pants, a saber, and a red cape. "Hey... he almost looks like a - "

" Matador?! " Adam stepped away, the compartment in his chest opening. He took out what looked like a... book, of all things... and held it up like some sort of protective ward. " She can fuse THAT? "

Yuina grimaced. She looked up at the Velvet Room attendant, pursing her lips. "... Is that some kinda sign that I'm cursed?"

" A-Ah! No. It's just... " Adam slowly relaxed, putting his book away. " Matador is what is known as a Fiend. The Fiends are some of the strongest Personas a Wild Card can acquire. The guests I've serviced have never been able to create one so early into their journey. "

Hm. Yuina glanced back at Matador. "Is that really it?"

" Yes. Sorry for losing composure... " Adam bowed his head apologetically. " I just wasn't expecting that from an early Persona user. Especially you. "

"Y'know, this would be a lot easier if you stopped with the insults." Yuina grumbled, before turning her attention towards Igor. "So, uh... can I get that fusion, then?"

"If that is what you wish." Igor's smile was enigmatic as always.

Somehow, he made a simple decision sound like a life changing event without even sounding that dramatic. Yuina stared at Matador for a moment longer, before shrugging. "He's got a cool saber and a wicked red cape. Sure, let's fuse him."

" It's a red capote, actually... " Adam coughed into his fist.

"Who gives a fuck, dude?" Yuina threw her hands up in the air, watching as Igor brought the cards directly on top of each other. A blue flash of light filled her vision, followed by a strange sensation in her head - like different parts of it were being pulled together. It was... oddly pleasant, all things considered, and only lasted up until her vision cleared.

There was her new Persona. Matador stood proudly before her, swishing his capote with a cheeky grin.  _ "You've called upon my strength, amigo? I shall provide a wonderful show for you, then." _

"Good to have you on board." Yuina grinned, feeling strangely respectful. She bowed her head as Matador disappeared, curiously glancing down at her watch - sure enough, Hua Po and Angel were gone, replaced by an image of Matador at the fourth position. She let out a slight exhale, slumping back into her chair. "... So, that's it? I can just go out and use him?"

Adam studied her uncertainly, the gold liquid in his face forming into a pensive expression. " So long as you don't get yourself killed. "

Yuina was about to retort again, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. Adam  _ was _ concerned for her, even if he was terrible at expressing it. "So, uh... I guess that's it, then? Did you guys have anything else to talk about?" Internally, she braced herself for another long, philosophical ramble that sounded profound but ultimately only raised  _ more _ questions.

Much to her surprise, however, Igor's response was pleasantly straightforward... at least, compared to the advice he had given so far. "You've continued to carve out your own path. Do whatever you think will create the future you seek." His grin was unwavering, as always. "However, I do have one piece of advice for you regarding near events."

Yuina took that first part as a sign she should just keep doing what she was doing - which was good. Beating the hell out of weird things was starting to feel like a fun day job at this point. His last statement, however, caused her to raise an eyebrow. "... Advice, huh? Let's hear it."

"Very soon, you will be confronted by an adversary." Igor steepled his fingers underneath his chin. "The exact details are unclear... but they are not who they seem. Treat the situation carefully, and you can create infinite possibilities for the time that lies ahead of you. But if you act too recklessly... then you may run out of time sooner than you expect."

The fact that he was saying all of this so casually coupled with his sinister grin sent a chill down Yuina's spine. Still, it didn't  _ sound _ that bad. Some person was going to fight them soon and she'd just have to beat them, right? Or maybe this was advice from Igor that she'd have to run off if they were too strong. Who was this "adversary", anyway? She and Saburo were going to hunt for the Shadow that killed his sister soon, but... the way Igor talked about them, it sounded more like a person than a simple Shadow. Her mind was swirling with all the different possibilities... 

She shook her head to clear it. Dwelling on this now would only make things worse later. "... Got it. Thanks for the advice."

" Our primary interest is that you fulfill the purpose you have set for yourself. " Adam's face formed into a thoughtful smile. " Time is a precious resource that you can never get back. I hope we've been helping you make the most of it. "

Yuina normally would've made fun of Adam for spouting more philosophical bullcrap, but the core message behind his words was enough to get her to pause. Before all of this Shadow stuff had started, there was only really one thing in her life that gave her some reason to carry on. But now she felt more alive than ever, taking down demons left and right. Sure, it was dangerous, but... why would she ever go back? And it was all thanks to these guys that she had the tools she needed to keep doing this.

"... Thanks, Adam. I mean it. And you too, Igor." She slowly got up from the chair, stepping towards the door behind her. "You guys are cool."

Igor didn't react with anything other than an appreciative nod, but Adam made a happy whirring noise that Yuina had to resist giggling at. Igor's reply was matter of fact, yet carrying his usual mysterious cadence. "You have nothing to thank us for, guest. We're only doing our duty."

"Well, your duty's 'helping some random-ass delinquent get back on her feet', so..." Yuina chuckled, waving towards the both of them before stepping towards the door. "See you guys later."

"Farewell..." Igor's voice echoed softly as Yuina stepped through, everything going white.


	27. Not So Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Next chapter is heeeere! Look forward to the chapter after this one; it's very important. :) A little hint: It's called "Die Die My Darling".  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 19 _

_ Noon _

It was funny how things changed. A week or two ago, Yuina wouldn't have dreamed of inviting Fuyuko directly to her house - at least alone. But after falling off a building together while trying to fight a freaky mecha-bird, it helped ease up her comfort zone just a bit. She wanted to get to know Shouhei at one point, but given how he probably needed some time to cool down after the whole Shadow fiasco, it seemed better to invite her second-newest teammate over instead.

Unfortunately, her parents were home. As Yuina sat on the porch, she sucked in her gut, bracing herself for what comments Fuyuko would make. She'd be willing to... tolerate whatever suggestive remarks came out of her mouth, but she made sure to keep her bat out this time, just in case she needed to give her a little bonk.

... Oh, there she was. Yuina caught sight of Fuyuko casually walking down the street with her hands in her pockets, whistling to herself. The lazy girl came to a stop in front of Yuina's house, stepping up to the porch and waving. "Hey."

"Yo." Yuina waved back, gesturing with one hand for Fuyuko to come in. She stepped towards the door, pulling it open. "How've you been?"

"Could be better, could be worse." Fuyuko shrugged, lacing her fingers together and stretching both arms over her head with a light yawn. She stepped inside the house, taking a look around as Yuina shut the door behind them. "Nice place."

"Thanks. It's nothing too special, but... still feels like home. Wait until you see my room." Yuina grinned. "Let's just chill on the couch for a bit. Mom's making some treats for us." She took a seat on the couch; Fuyuko stood next to her for a moment before also sitting down, albeit more gracefully. "Got any interesting plans?"

Fuyuko tapped her chin. "I'm gonna be training with Sensei tomorrow, I guess. You know I'm not really the type to... plan and stuff." She rubbed her eyes with a sleepy sigh. "I appreciate the small talk and all, it's just I don't have much going on. My life isn't that interesting." She smiled just a bit. "I'd rather hear about you."

"Oh. Well, uh..." Yuina wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she just decided to roll with it. She  _ wanted _ to say Fuyuko was just being casual, but... with her, she could never tell. "I've been doing better in school. Kanako's made sure I've got everything straight, considering most of the info tends to fly over my head. We've got some cool teachers, but we have some that are... well, shitty's an understatement." She chuckled softly. "I'm glad I've got her around."

"You're a lucky gal. So is she." Fuyuko smirked, tossing a bit of her hair over her shoulder. "Honestly, I just scrape by with what I can in school. Might have to ask her for some help."

"I don't think Kanako's physically capable of saying no, so knock yourself out." Both girls laughed, with Yuina relaxing pretty quickly. She had to admit, Fuyuko was a breath of fresh air to just chill around. Her other friends were plenty great, but she didn't know Shouhei that well yet, Kanako was more for empathetic talk, and she didn't really envision herself having small talk with Saburo. Being able to talk about... well,  _ nothing _ just felt like a huge weight off her shoulders.

Before Yuina could dwell on it much longer, though, she heard the kitchen door open. Her head turned over her shoulder to see Hitomi approaching eagerly with a platter of cookies in one hand. Rokuro made his way in behind her, watching attentively as she set it down in front of the two. "Here you go! Chocolate chip."

Uh oh. Now that her parents were here, Yuina was bracing herself for something from Fuyuko. She forced a smile. "Thanks, Mom. Fuyuko, you want the first cookie?"

"Honestly, you can go ahead. Not a huge fan of chocolate." Fuyuko shrugged, folding her hands on her lap and looking up at Hitomi. "No offense, ma'am. I'll have a couple; I'm sure they're delicious."

"Suit yourself." With a shrug, Yuina took a cookie and bit into it wholeheartedly. If Shadows could use chocolate-based attacks, that'd be a weakness no matter what Persona she had equipped. She already let out a slight sigh; normally she'd gag at people saying something tasted like home, but stuff like this made that perspective a little more understandable.

Rokuro looked over Fuyuko, crossing his arms and tapping at one of his elbows with one finger. "So this is Fuyuko, huh? Yuina, I can't say I approve of her taste in food." Despite his words, a slight tug at the edges of his lips betrayed his amusement. Both he and Fuyuko chuckled, with him extending a hand shortly after. "Good to meet you. I'm Rokuro; Yuina's dad."

"It's good to meet you, sir." Fuyuko shook his hand firmly.

Yuina blinked in the middle of taking another bite of her cookie, looking at Fuyuko for just a second. Sure, she was caught off guard by the fact that she was actually being respectful and not dropping an innuendo, but... she seemed a little stiffer, somehow. Or maybe it was just her imagination. Deciding not to call attention to it, she chewed what was left in her mouth before swallowing. "Mmm. These are sick, Mom."

"By the end of the school year, I'll have baked hundreds of these for all the people that come here." Hitomi beamed, clasping her hands together. "You've been making friends with so many new people! I'm so proud!"

"Just don't go inviting them all over at once, now." Rokuro patted his daughter's shoulder. "Otherwise I'll never see your mom leave the kitchen."

"Rokuro!" Hitomi elbowed her husband, the both of them chuckling. "We'll leave you kids alone." They went upstairs, leaving the two by themselves once more.

Yuina happily scooped up another cookie, noticing Fuyuko taking one for herself as well. That was when she noticed her skin looked just a little paler than usual - and the stiffness in her movement was still present as she munched on her own cookie. Her eyes looked a lot more focused than usual, making it seem as though she was deep in thought. "... Mmm. It's alright."

Yuina pursed her lips. "... Are you alright? You seem kinda... out of it, I dunno." She set down her cookie. "If you wanna talk, we can."

Fuyuko's expression remained neutral as she nibbled on her cookie a little more, staying silent for a bit. With a slight sigh, Yuina turned back to her own cookie, not wanting to prod her too much. Before she could take another bite, though, Fuyuko spoke softly. "... You're good with your family, right?"

That question caught Yuina off guard. She scratched her head. "... Uhh... yeah, I'd say so. We were kinda at odds before I caught Countdown, but after that they've been tryin' to help me. Even with that, they're still the first people to have my back." She was about to ask why Fuyuko brought that up, but... she slowly closed her mouth. It was pretty much a no-brainer, come to think of it...

Sure enough, Fuyuko confirmed her suspicions. "That's cool. Good for you and all." She exhaled a heavy sigh. "... Wish I had those kinda parents."

Uh oh. Yuina folded her hands together, trying to actually not blurt out what first came to mind. She was the  _ last _ person to talk to when it came to this sort of thing, considering even with all the grief her parents put her through, she still loved them. Still, she didn't want to just leave her out to dry, especially because her normal calm grin was gone. "If, uh... if you don't mind sharing, what're they like?"

Fuyuko adjusted her scarf hesitantly. "... They're fine. They're not exactly proud of their kid. Not that I blame them. Most I've done for them is occupy a bedroom."

"Hey. None of that." Yuina wagged a finger in her direction. "We went over this with your Shadow. You're awesome. I threw myself off a damn building for you."

"You sure did." Fuyuko mustered a slight chuckle, her smile returning. "Thanks."

Yuina waited for her to say more about her parents, but... she didn't. She raised an eyebrow. It didn't really sound like Fuyuko was done there. If her parents were just "fine", then why did she seem so bothered that Yuina was doing well with her parents? She was definitely not telling the full story here, but prying too hard would probably be a bad idea...

Playing it safe, she cautiously asked, "Is that really it? About your parents, I mean."

It was obvious that question hit a nerve; something in Fuyuko's eyes just seemed to change. She seemed distinctly more unfocused all of a sudden, mouthing something that Yuina couldn't quite make out. Nervously, Yuina placed a hand on her shoulder. "Uh? Earth to Fuyuko?"

Fuyuko blinked, shaking her head. The clarity returned to her eyes. "... Sorry." She was extremely pale all of a sudden, like she had just seen a ghost. She bit her lip. "I, uh... don't... don't wanna talk about it. Something happened with us."

Yuina understood a little more, but things still seemed off. Whatever happened, it was enough that Fuyuko dissociated for a few seconds... but she had come this far. If she wanted to cheer up her friend, then now was definitely  _ not _ the time to back down. She scooted a little closer. "... I know parents can be kinda rough sometimes. My parents gave me shit for a long time cause I didn't wanna put any effort into school. But... I talked to them and we patched things up eventually." She pursed her lips. "It's... a lot easier than it looks sometimes to talk to - "

"What the hell about 'I don't want to talk about it' don't you understand?"

Yuina jolted in shock as Fuyuko's head swiveled towards her, glaring at her more intensely than any Shadow possibly could. Her voice wasn't particularly loud, but it was such a stark contrast from her regular tone that Yuina felt a lot smaller than she was. She scooted away nervously, practically shrinking back into the couch. "... S-Sorry."

Fuyuko didn't respond, slowly turning her head back to a neutral position. Yuina buried her face in her hands. Damnit, damnit, damnit. All she wanted was for Fuyuko to feel better, and she had inadvertently made things worse. She mustered the courage to lower her hands, coughing. "... You... you can leave if you want. I'll just tell Mom you got tired or something..."

She trailed off, noticing Fuyuko's posture had changed in the time she had spent with her face covered. She looked almost... defeated, with her head hanging low and her eyes shut solemnly. "... It's not your fault. Sorry for snapping."

She leaned over and took another cookie before standing up. "... I think I am gonna head off, though. Nothing personal. Just need some alone time." Slowly, her face turned to normal. She offered Yuina a slight smile that was somehow different from her normal mysterious grin. "Tell your mom the cookies were good."

"All... all right." Yuina still felt unsure, swallowing a lump in her throat. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "We're still friends, right?"

Fuyuko blinked, before... laughing softly. Despite the hints of sadness lingering in her voice, she sounded legitimately happy. "Lemme point out again that you threw yourself off a building for me. Gonna be hard to break a relationship where we're falling for each other that hard."

"Right." Yuina felt a massive wave of relief overcome her. "Well, uh... hope you - " She cut herself off, processing Fuyuko's words for a second.

Then, she raised one finger, before grumbling and crossing her arms. "... God damnit."

"Hey, I didn't wanna break my track record, did I? Plus, your parents weren't around to hear that. Seemed like prime time." Fuyuko winked, before turning and leisurely making her way towards the door. "See you around, Yuina."

**~~ RANK UP! - HIGH PRIESTESS ARCANA: FUYUKO MIKI ~~**

Yuina didn't respond as the door shut behind her, staring at where Fuyuko had been in stunned silence. She went over what she had said in her head one more time, trying to make any sense of the fact that Fuyuko had actually been willing to respect her dignity around her parents. Before she could solve this strange realization, however, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and carefully picked it up to see a new message on Chaos.

And the message was enough to make her heart stop.

[4/19 12:53 PM] time-crasher: i almost ran into the shadow that killed my sister we need to go look for it

[4/19 12:54 PM] ThirdBass: shit.

[4/19 12:55 PM] ThirdBass: i'll be at your house in 10. don't go in there alone; we're doing this together.

Feeling a surge of adrenaline run through her, she slung her bat over her shoulder and practically dashed out the door.


	28. Die Die My Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 19 _

_ The Ticking Hell _

After her slightly harrowing talk with Fuyuko, a Shadow fight was just what Yuina needed.

Maybe it was just because everything else felt so mundane in comparison, but  _ nothing _ compared to the rush she felt when beating down a freaky monster. When Saburo asked for her help, she promised she was going to be there in ten minutes; she had instead arrived in five, and the two had set off immediately, quietly roaming Okabe while it was at a standstill.

"So you saw it around here, right?" Yuina slowed down, looking around at the buildings surrounding them. This wasn't familiar territory for her; normally she was around the upper parts of the city. This was right in the middle of Commerce Street - pretty much as far down as you could go for Okabe. She stayed close to the sidewalk, browsing the surrounding shops curiously.

Saburo nodded, keeping one rock in his slingshot as he looked around. "I'd bet my life on it. Well... maybe not my life. I'd rather not die if I'm wrong, but I  _ won't _ be wrong, because it was definitely around here. Unless there's some sort of Shadow that can make hallucinations."

"Honestly, I'd cut you some slack even if there was." Yuina took a few more steps forward, keeping her bat gripped firmly. So far, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary - not even any smaller Shadows for them to keep at bay. "Any way we can tell where it is?"

"... It made some sort of sound. Honestly, I wish I could tell you what it was, but... I sort of panicked when I saw it." Saburo sheepishly scratched his head.

"Right." Yuina nodded, idly coming to a stop in front of one of the buildings - a bakery. She stared at the windows for a second, looking at the various pastries on display. Sure, it wasn't quite the same without being able to smell the scent of fresh bread, but... they still looked appetizing. "... Uh, Saburo, you said things go back if we take them in the Ticking Hell, right?"

"Hm? Why do you..." Saburo trailed off, looking at the window. He then stared at Yuina incredulously. "Are you serious?"

Yuina raised her hands. "Hey, it's not stealing if it goes back in the same condition and stuff, right? Just a little snack would be nice, I guess..."

Saburo brought one hand to his forehead with a sigh. "I don't think that'll be good for you, because the food in your stomach will vanish when you get out. You really shouldn't take any risks when it comes to this stuff."

"Bitch, I'm the best risk taker." Yuina stuck her tongue out at him, but nonetheless backed down, stepping back. "Still... I honestly probably should've brought a little something. My mom made cookies, but - "

_ Clink-clink... _

Yuina froze mid sentence as a loud sound echoed through the silence of the Ticking Hell. She grabbed onto Saburo's wrist and hurriedly pulled him into a nearby alleyway, stepping deep into it before slowly letting go. She brought a finger to her lips, and after a nod from him, the two stayed deathly still. Yuina even had to stop herself from blinking. She hadn't imagined that, right...? She had definitely heard something.

_ Clink-clink... clink-clink... _

There it was again. Yuina turned back to Saburo, noticing his eyes wide. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious enough what he meant, and the sound was one that was altogether disconcerting: the sound of rattling chains. Slowly, Yuina stepped a little closer to the edge of the alleyway, trying to peek out and see if the Shadow was in sight.

Unfortunately, with where she was standing, she couldn't make anything out. All she could make out was a deep black aura surrounding a blurry shape, but it was enough to create a hard lump in her throat. She didn't know why, but... just looking at the Shadow made her feel an unnatural fear that made her feel paralyzed. Her legs felt rooted to the concrete, her grip on her bat was trembling, and she could even feel a chill running down her entire body, as if just looking at this was making everything feel cold.

And yet, despite all of that, she didn't back down. Sure, she was afraid, but that was just because of what this Shadow was doing. She wasn't  _ really _ scared. Besides, fear just made her fight harder. She whispered to Saburo, "I'm going to go in on the count of three. We should land a surprise attack."

Saburo slowly nodded in understanding. Yuina held up her bat with one hand, using her other hand to hold up one finger.

_ Clink-clink... _

She held up another finger. Saburo raised his slingshot, and Yuina took a step back.

_ Clink-clink... _

Yuina held up her third finger. "Now."

Without any other sounds, she burst out of the alley, charging straight for the Shadow. Triumphantly, she saw it whip around in shock, not even registering what it was as she slammed her bat straight into what looked like its chest area as hard as she could...

... only for it to not even flinch.

Yuina stared dumbfoundedly at her bat before her eyes slowly turned up to stare at the Shadow before her, the artificial fright feeling magnified thousands of times over from up close. A single white eye glared down at her from a bloodsoaked cloth formed in the shape of a head, rattling chains draped around its neck like a sentient necklace. Her blow was hard enough that the Shadow's black jacket flapped out from the wind, yet its body didn't even move, save for one of its arms - which pointed a long revolver straight at her chest.

_ BANG! _

Yuina's vision went red in an instant as The Reaper's bullet exploded against her chest, sending her flying hard enough that she skidded straight through the pavement. She could've sworn some of it even cracked from how hard she had been shot, but she couldn't really tell, everything going blurry in an instant. Her grip loosened on her bat, and it dropped beside her as she finally came to rest, groaning in agony.

"Y-Yuina!" Saburo dashed straight towards her, ignoring the Reaper even as it slowly advanced towards the two. He hastily shot a rock at it, but the rock simply bounced off its body, doing nothing to impede it at all.

"Rgh... I'm... fine..." Yuina coughed, grabbing onto her watch and turning it to Kodama. She wordlessly casted a Dia spell on herself, feeling a bit of her strength return - enough for her to grab onto her bat, stand, and face the Reaper directly. "So this is it?"   
  


"Y... Yeah. This is the Shadow." Saburo's eyes narrowed, and he summoned Tristram by his side. He stared at The Reaper, his expression displaying more fury than Yuina thought Saburo was capable of feeling. "... I'm here because of one of the lives you've taken. Does the name Tomoko ring a bell?"

The Reaper didn't move, tilting its head to stare at him for a moment. Much to Yuina's surprise, Saburo didn't back down, raising a rock confidently. "Do you even remember her?!"

Rather than responding, the Reaper aimed one gun sky high and fired a bullet straight into the air. Its entire body shimmered briefly, but it didn't seem to do much else.

"Let's rip this guy to shreds." Sure, their initial attacks weren't doing much, but Yuina was confident there was some sort of trick to it. Maybe hitting him in the eye would work. She darted in at lightning-fast speed, jumping and smashing her bat down onto his head - 

\- only for her bat to ricochet off the Reaper's body, the shimmering from before seeming to shatter like a barrier around it. The bat smacked Yuina straight in the skull, sending her tumbling to the ground in a daze and nearly taking out her newly restored energy in one fell swoop. The Reaper aimed its gun down at her again, and she barely managed to roll out of the way, the resulting bullet blowing through the concrete where she was. With all the fight she had left in her, she sprung back to her feet, taking a few protective steps back - and breathing heavily. Kodama appeared behind her and showered her in green light once more, but she could feel her focus fading fast.

The Reaper aimed its other revolver her way, but was interrupted by a rock smacking it straight in the eye - which, much to Yuina's shock, didn't seem to affect it much either. Its head swiveled straight towards Saburo, and it instead fired a bullet straight into his Persona. Tristram screeched and flailed before fizzling out - and Saburo went tumbling to the ground, clutching his head with both hands in panic.

_ No...! _ Yuina stumbled towards him protectively, spreading out both her arms like someone trying to defend against a bear. "H... Hey," she spat through her steadily growing terror. "Back the... back off."

Unimpressed, the Reaper raised its gun sky-high again. Yuina used the opportunity to swap Personas to Caulfield, but it didn't set up another barrier - too late did she see the light above her, raining down like a meteor shower. Blue energy bombarded her and Saburo, exploding and sending them flying across the street like ragdolls, their weapons clattering next to them. They both tried to get up, but it was no use - both of them feebly collapsed to the ground, Yuina staring helplessly at the approaching Reaper.

"Y... Yuina...?" Saburo coughed - and Yuina could've sworn she saw blood. "Are..."

"... I'm sorry." Yuina stared at the Reaper, already knowing what was coming.

The Reaper came to a stop above the two, glaring at them for a moment longer. Its eye flicked between Saburo, then Yuina, before it settled on her, pointing one gun straight at her head. Even though she knew there was no point in trying to struggle, Yuina stared defiantly down the gun's barrel. "F... Fuck you," she spat. "Give me your best shot."

Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Saburo staring at her, blinking. The Reaper looked at her for a moment longer before its finger tightened around the trigger.

"NO!"

All of a sudden, the gun was knocked aside, and the road next to Yuina was blown into pieces. Some of the concrete smashed into her side, but she was so hurt and exhausted that it barely registered. What did register, however, was Saburo standing in front of her - looking like he was about to collapse, but nonetheless standing. Saburo was gripping The Reaper's revolver with both hands, gritting his teeth and panting heavily. "You... already took someone I care about away from me... I'm... not letting you do it again!"

He slammed one hand down on his watch. Before The Reaper could pull free, Tristram appeared next to its hand and delivered a shaky, yet firm slash that was just enough for the Reaper to let go of its gun. Yuina watched in transfixed awe as Tristram and Saburo flipped the massive gun around in an instant, pointing it straight at the Shadow's head - and with zero hesitation, Saburo fired.

_ BANG! _

The resulting gunshot shattered against the Reaper's face, causing it to howl in pain and cover it with its now free hand. Saburo tossed aside its revolver, pressing one hand onto his watch. "Yuina... hold... watch!"

Yuina understood. She barely had any energy left, but she managed to press her thumb down on her watch's button as The Reaper recovered from the blow. The last thing she saw was it staring at her, aiming its gun for her again in an attempt to pick a last victim off.

But, it was too late. Everything vanished, the world going white in an instant.

***

_ April 19 _

_ Afternoon _

Yuina wasn't sure how long she had just been lying on the grass of Kaihaku Park, staring up at the sky like it was all she had left in life. When she could actually figure out what was going on, she took note of a few things. First of all, while her exhaustion was still prominent, the pain had faded away almost instantly, now little more than a dull throb. Saburo had said something about injuries being healed quickly in the real world...

_... Saburo! _

In a panic, Yuina stumbled to her feet, glancing around. Much to her relief, Saburo was crouched on the ground in the fetal position - breathing extremely heavily, but nonetheless alive. She crouched down, placing both her hands on him. "S-Saburo!"

"Ugh... Yuina. Hi..." Saburo managed to get to his feet, thankfully no longer visibly bleeding. Yuina could see his shirt stained a little, but it wasn't getting that much worse. He leaned against Yuina unsteadily. "Are you okay?"

"Are  _ you _ okay?" Yuina gripped him tightly, making sure he could stay up. "Saburo, you... you saved my goddamn life there..."

She hugged her friend tightly. Saburo weakly wrapped his arms around her, patting her back. "I... I didn't want anyone else to die... without me being able to do anything."

"Dude... that was nothing. I..." Yuina exhaled sharply, looking down at her feet. "I... I'm sorry. I could've helped take that out, but..." She clenched one fist. "I was too weak. I couldn't do anything against that..."

"Neither of us could." Saburo smiled softly before coughing into his sleeve again. "... We should get home. I hope you don't mind if I crash at your house. We... we really shouldn't just talk here... especially after all of that..."

As much as Yuina wanted to apologize and gush over what happened, Saburo had a point. She had more energy than before, especially with the fact that the two were still alive, but she could barely stand. This would be a hell of a problem to explain to her parents...

She exhaled sharply. "... We'll talk about this later. Let's... take some time off."

With a firm nod, Saburo leaned against his friend for support. The two carefully made their way out of the park, coming to a wordless agreement.

**~~ RANK UP! - STAR ARCANA: SABURO SASAKI ~~**


	29. Matter of Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, here's the next chapter! If you're wondering why there wasn't one last time, it's because there were two chapters in one day and I skipped the week to catch up on classes. Readers in my Discord knew that! You should join it; we're chill.  
> Next chapter is one more Social Link chapter with good old Kanako, and then we'll get to our next Shadow... who should more or less be obvious by now. Enjoy!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 21 _

_ After School _

Yuina was incredibly relieved that the injuries from the Reaper had faded overnight, because that would have been awkward to explain to her parents. However, those were just  _ physical _ wounds. No matter how much she had tried to shake what had happened, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Every time she thought back to what had happened two days ago, she practically felt the gunshot to her chest, her feeble attempts at fighting back...

... and what made her chilled to her core: that white eye staring murderously at her.

The bell had rang a couple minutes ago, but Yuina hadn't moved from her spot, staring down at the wood of her desk with her head in her hands. She had barely been paying attention in class. How could she? She had nearly  _ died _ two days ago. She had done stupid stuff before, sure, and had multiple near-death experiences against other Shadows, but something about the Reaper was different. Just thinking about it felt like she was staring at her own grave. The only reason both she and Saburo hadn't died was because of her friend's quick thinking.

She exhaled sharply, slumping down in her seat. Every time she tried to turn her mind away from her near-death experience, it just came back twice as strong. She shut her eyes tightly, but that only served to make the image of the Reaper clearer.  _ Come on... come on -  _

"Umm... are you okay?"

A gentle voice snapped her out of those thoughts all at once. Yuina slowly opened her eyes, looking up at whomever was speaking to her. Haruna glanced down at her, obvious concern on her face. "You look really... scared, almost..."

"Mmm." Yuina fought to look nonchalant, leaning back against her chair with one arm draped over the headrest. "Just... something that happened a couple days ago. I don't wanna talk about it."

Her words must have come out a bit rougher than she intended, because Haruna shied away like a timid animal. Immediately feeling bad, Yuina's expression softened. "... It's not that big of a deal. Just a weird experience. Don't worry about it." Much to her relief, the conversation served to help finally divert her attention from what had happened. She offered a friendly smile. "Thanks for checkin' up on me. How're you doing?"

Haruna relaxed a bit, stepping towards Yuina again. "Do you mind if I...?" She gestured towards the desk next to her. After a nod from Yuina, she took a seat, fitting a little awkwardly into it due to her height. "I'm okay. Umm, I found out my big sister's boyfriend just proposed to her..." She scratched her head, her smile turning a little silly. "So we're already planning the wedding."

Yuina grinned, shooting Haruna a pair of finger guns. "Hey, that's pretty cool. You excited to be an aunt?"

"Sort of." Haruna twiddled her fingers a bit, looking off to the side. "I already have eleven siblings, so... nieces will just add a lot to the equation."

"Right, right." Yuina nodded in understanding. Then, what Haruna had said abruptly hit her. She raised one finger. "... Hang on, did you say  _ eleven? _ "

"I-I know..." Embarrassed, Haruna shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Dude, that's sick. I'm just surprised, is all. I'd pay to have a ton of siblings, but here I am, an only kid." Yuina whistled, crossing her arms. "How much did your parents fuck to get that many kids? Seriously."

"Y-Yuina!" Haruna buried her face in her sweater, making a little whining sound.

Yuina cackled. "I'm just messing with you. Relax." She gave Haruna a moment to settle down, not wanting to make her too embarrassed. From what she could tell, she was like a deer - you needed to be gentle or she'd burst into tears and run off. "Where are you in the family? You said you had a big sister... second oldest, maybe? Somewhere in the middle? Runt of the litter?"

"I'm the third youngest, actually." Haruna did in fact calm down, relaxing a bit in her seat. "... My big brother and big sister, uhh..." She scratched her head. "Sis is done with college... she wants to be a famous actress. And, um... my bro's in college right now! He's... he's going to be an engineer, so that's pretty cool..."

Was she... stuttering? Yuina raised an eyebrow. "Why the long face? Those are pretty cool professions. Willing to bet you're gonna go into something great."

Haruna stared at her blankly, blinking. Before Yuina could ask what was up, she abruptly shot to her feet. "I, um... I have to go! Thanks for the talk, I hope you're doing okay!" She sprinted out of the room as fast as her legs would carry her.

"H-Hey, hold up - " Yuina tried to call after her, but just like that, she was gone. She stared at where Haruna had been, smacking her lips, before slowly staring at the desk. Had she said something wrong? It didn't feel like it... she had been pretty encouraging. Maybe she just remembered she had something  _ really _ important to do...

... What the hell had just happened?

Before Yuina could dwell on it much longer, however, someone else stepped into the classroom. She turned her gaze up to see Shouhei leaning in, giving the classroom a quick sweeping glance. "... Did you see Haruna around?"

"Hello to you too," Yuina replied dryly, not budging from her spot. "You literally just missed her. We talked for a bit, I brought up her family, and then she ran the fuck out like her oven was on fire or something."

Shouhei snapped his fingers. "Just my luck." He didn't seem perturbed, stepping inside. "I just wanted to ask her about some homework. It's not that important." He made his way to the desk beside Yuina without missing a beat, plopping down in a relaxed manner. "Mind if I hang with you?"

"Oh, I see. I'm the sloppy seconds, huh?" Despite the bite in her words, Yuina cracked a smirk. "Yeah, let's chill for a bit. We haven't really talked ever since the whole... y'know."

"Thaaaaat's life. I get possessed by a robot bird and get the crap beaten out of me by three guys with mind demons. Great! Now work on your paper due next week." Both of them shared a chuckle, with Shouhei leaning back against the desk and draping one arm lazily over the headrest. "Everything been okay?"

"Not the word I'd use." Yuina flinched as another image of the Reaper hit her, but it went away much quicker this time. Maybe it was because she actually had someone here to talk to. Deciding to respect Saburo's privacy - and to not give their newest member the impression that she was a complete dumbass - she decided to keep what had happened in the vaguest terms possible. "I went out to fight Shadows a couple days ago, but got caught off guard. We all get our asses kicked sometimes." She shrugged, trying to play herself off as nonchalant.

Fortunately, Shouhei didn't seem to notice - or if he did, he didn't care. "Eh, yeah. It happens. You guys only started fighting Shadows a couple weeks ago, right?" He adjusted his fedora. "Makes sense you wouldn't be the best in the world."

"Well, technically, we are." Yuina grinned. "As far as I know, we're the only Persona users around. You'd think we would've run into another one by now."

"Fair's fair." Shouhei shrugged. "Still, if you're struggling against Shadows, I'm probably gonna get tossed around like a chew toy."

Yuina snorted, straightening in her seat. Just being able to admit she had lost... it felt like a little bit of weight off her shoulders. Not much, but... enough. She idly tugged at the ends of her hair. "You kidding? You're probably the most capable guy on the team."

Shouhei hesitated, before slowly turning towards her with a raised eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Well, duh. It's not like you have much in the way of competition." Yuina glanced over her shoulder, half expecting Saburo to smash through the window and complain. "I mean, my teammates are great. Wouldn't trade 'em for the world. Even Kanako, and she's not a Shadow fighter. But out of our little group, we've got a scatterbrained professor dude, one of the laziest people out there, a normie, and..." She gestured to herself. "... well,  _ me. _ An ace student who actually has his head screwed on straight is a fucking godsend."

"Hm." Shouhei rubbed his chin. "... Well, I mean, thanks, but... that's not what I was expecting. Honestly, I kinda thought you hated me." He cracked a smile. "The next words out of your mouth had better not be 'Why would you think that', considering how we normally talk."

Yuina blinked, before bursting into giggles. "... Dude, I give you shit, but you're alright. Yeah, sometimes you being a casanova is kinda annoying, but it's not like you can control a bunch of people swooning over you if you're just that good."

Another pause. Shouhei slowly grinned, looking a little mischievous. "Did you do that on purpose?"

It took a second for Yuina to realize what she had said. She sputtered for a second before coughing into her sleeve. "You get what I meant. Don't make me  _ actually _ not like you."

"Hey, I'm allowed to mess with you too." Shouhei tipped his hat, before straightening and looking up towards the ceiling. The two were silent for a moment, with Yuina looking at him as if he was about to tell a story. "... I've been thinking. About my Shadow, and... the time I've got left before I have to go to college."

Not wanting to interrupt his train of thought, Yuina just leaned back in her chair, internally bracing herself for a little monologue from the third-year. "And?"

"Well... reflecting on everything my Shadow said, I've been thinking about why I was so afraid of losing what I had here. I mean, it's high school." Shouhei looked up at the ceiling. "I know everyone goes on about how their most treasured memories were around that time... or college. But high school's still pretty big, right?" He let out a slight sigh. "And... it's mostly the people. I've got a ton of friends here, and I can keep in touch with them easily. But that doesn't have much to do with school life. There's plenty of other things to enjoy here, like clubs and stuff."

He looked back towards Yuina. "There's still so much I could do here. I'm not gonna be in this small town forever; I want to make the most of my life here in Okabe." A grin came onto his face. "I just have to start living it."

Yuina whistled sharply. "I'll drink to that." She offered her fist, and Shouhei bumped it. "You're gonna have a hell of a time with us, I can say that. Just make sure you've actually got a life to live."

"Hey, I'm not a daredevil. I guess I'm a bit cocky at times, but you have permission to clonk me over the head when that happens." Shouhei pointed to his fedora. "Just don't ruin the hat."

Yuina snorted, resting one hand on her bat jokingly. "I'll be sure to cash in that rain check."

_ I am thou... thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond... _

_ You will inspire change within each other... _

_ Thou shalt be blessed when making Personas of the Death Arcana... _

**~~ RANK UP! - DEATH ARCANA: SHOUHEI HAYATO ~~**

The two sat there for a moment before Yuina slowly stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. "I should probably get going. It's been good talking with you, though. Things have been a little, uh..." She went quiet, before settling on a word. "Chaotic as of late."

"Well, people tell me I can stay cool. I'll do my best to live up to that." Shouhei gave her a little salute with his fingers. "You guys have a Chaos group, right?"

Yuina snapped her fingers. "Right, we should probably get you in there." She took out her phone as Shouhei stood up, the two exchanging their contact info. Yuina peeked at her phone, seeing his username pop up. "So you're..." She hesitated, staring at the username that had popped up on her friend request list. "............ Uh..."

"It's a long story." Shouhei smirked. "But yeah, that's me."

"Right." Deciding not to question it, Yuina added him to the Timekeepers group, gulping in anticipation as a few messages flashed up on her screen.

[4/21 3:52 PM] ThirdBass: shouhei is in the chat now. be nice.

[4/21 3:53 PM] time-crasher: Hello

[4/21 3:55 PM] Purplepretzel: Heya! Looking at the sidebar I think I can guess who's who. :P

[4/21 3:56 PM] perpetuallytired: nice username, good to have you bb 8)

[4/21 3:56 PM] Purplepretzel: ;)

[4/21 3:57 PM] ThirdBass: we're kicking shouhei from the chat

[4/21 3:57 PM] time-crasher: Okay

Yuina looked up from her phone to see Shouhei's incredulous, yet amused expression. "Wow, Saburo's just going along with it, huh," he deadpanned.

The two of them shared a laugh before Yuina marched towards the door. "See you around, dude."


	30. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! If you were wondering why I took like a month off, well, it was due to college finals. But I can assure you this is still going! (Again, you'd know this info if you were in the Discord server!)  
> Still, let's keep going, shall we? Here's some time with Kanako before the next Shadow!  
> Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/8V5JBJq

_ April 23rd _

_ After School _

Sometimes, all this Persona business made Yuina feel like she was losing sight of what really mattered. In this case, her best friend.

"Hey, Kanako!" Yuina usually wasn't in a rush, but she practically raced to her friend's locker as soon as she grabbed her own stuff, coming to a stop and panting just a bit. She leaned against the locker right next to hers, trying to play it cool as Kanako looked at her with a surprised expression. "You, uh... you busy at all? I wanted to hang out."

"Oh, well... I do have some homework, but I can put it off for a bit. It's not that much." Kanako shrugged, taking her backpack out of her locker and slinging it onto her shoulders. "You were kind of in a rush, huh?"

"I didn't wanna miss you before you left." Yuina smirked, catching her breath relatively quickly. "Here, we can walk home and chill there or something. I doubt my parents will care if I'm a little later than usual, especially considering they count on you to keep me in line more than they do it themselves."

Kanako giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "Whose fault is that?" The two shared a laugh before they started walking towards the school's exit. "So, uh... I saw Shouhei was in the chat now?"

"Yeah." Never missing an opportunity to tease her friend, Yuina elbowed her slightly. "Bet you're real happy with that."

Unsurprisingly, Kanako's face flushed red, and she averted eye contact. "Do you have to bring that up every time? It's just a little, um... a little crush..."

" _ Everyone _ has a little crush on him, Kanako. The difference is that I can give you shit for it." Yuina grinned, her arm dropping to her side. "You two would be good together, though, considering you're both sweet-hearted brainiacs. It's like two peas in a pod."

  
"I, uh..." Kanako scratched her head awkwardly, taking a few deep breaths. The blush from her face faded just a little. "I know you're joking, but... he's charming. And cute. But I don't think he's really my type beyond that... he's just attractive because of, uh... the mystery behind him. I mean, I don't know how much I really know about him, even if it kinda..."

She trailed off, covering her mouth. Yuina raised an eyebrow, one hand on her hip as the two walked. "Y'know, you're not exactly making a good case here."

"I'm... not going to say anything else about him." Kanako's voice was small.

Yuina gave her a thumbs-up. "Jokes aside, you've got a point. We literally saw his goddamn Shadow and I still have no idea what's up with him." Deciding to change the subject before Kanako could only communicate in quiet sputtering, she straightened her posture, pushing open the doors to the school and basking in the fresh air. After an exhale of contentment, she turned to her friend. "So, uh... got anything exciting going on lately? I don't think we've really hung out in a bit... so I guess I'd just like to know what's going on with you and all that."

"Oh! Well, um..." Kanako pursed her lips, looking immensely relieved at the subject change. "Nothing I haven't really told you about. Besides school, the most exciting thing that's happened is the whole Shadow business. I've been keeping an eye out for anyone who we might want to go after next... it's hard to tell, though. Everyone's so secretive."

"Yeah. Pretty much nobody had any idea Shouhei was gonna be our next target." Yuina shrugged. Seeing the worried look on Kanako's face, she quickly added, "Don't worry 'bout it. Seriously. It's good to have advance notice, but we've been doing perfectly fine fighting by the seat of our pants."

Kanako nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense. I should just be happy I'm doing all I can." She smiled sweetly. "On a different note, I've actually been looking into learning how to use a naginata with Fuyuko, actually. She says her sensei is super nice, and his lessons are affordable."

Oh? That was news to her. "Hey, that sounds pretty cool." Yuina smirked. "If you end up getting a Persona somehow, you'll have something to fight with. Just be sure to remind Fuyuko I'm gonna kick her ass if she makes any advances on you."

"It's not like that!" Kanako pouted, crossing her arms. "You get on her case way too much."

Yuina snickered. "Hey, it's a mutual thing. Look, I've been bringing this up a lot, but we fell off a building together. There's this kinda bond you can't replicate from that; I think we have the right to give each other shit. I mean, you're even cooler than her and I can call you a bitch without batting an eye."

Kanako rubbed her arm. "Well, that's a little different. I know you, Yuina. I don't want you, uh..." She hesitated, before hastily backtracking. "I-I mean, uh, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea - "

"Nah, it's cool. I get what you meant." Yuina waved a hand dismissively. "I know I'm not the easiest person to talk with, but Fuyuko gets me enough that we're, uh..." Remembering their last interaction, she trailed off, choosing her words carefully. "... we're alright."

Kanako still seemed a bit uncertain, likely not helped by Yuina's faltering, but nonetheless nodded. "Alright. I'm just, well..." Her smile returned to her face. "I'm really happy to see you making friends, Yuina. I told you it'd be good for you. It hasn't even been a month and you already have Saburo, Fuyuko, and now Shouhei hanging around you... and you said you've been talking with Haruna too, right?"

"Yep. All of 'em are cool." Yuina wanted to act a little annoyed at Kanako going all "I told you so", but she couldn't bring herself to do so with how genuinely happy she seemed. Besides, she was right. Yuina felt better than she had in a  _ long _ time, especially with how cathartic it was to beat Shadows to a pulp. 

Still, her friend calling attention to her other friends was enough for her to hesitate briefly. "... Hey, uh... it's been great hanging out with everyone and all that. I'm super glad you're on the team. But... we haven't really gotten a chance to hang out together like this in a while. And we used to do that all the time." She looked down at the ground a bit. "I'm, uh... I know it's prolly just a me problem, but... I didn't wanna just leave you behind cause I've got some other friends to hang out with yet."

Kanako raised an eyebrow, coming to a stop on the sidewalk with Yuina. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"I dunno..." Yuina pursed her lips, kicking at the ground. "It's just these stupid thoughts I have. You've..." She could feel herself clamming up a bit. "You've been super cool to me. Even at my worst times. And I've always worried at some point that... well, I know I act out and stuff. I didn't want you leaving me behind cause of all the shit I start."

"Yuina..." Kanako put a hand to her chest, looking touched.

"And with the Persona stuff going on... well, it feels like we've been separated even more." Yuina sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. "Sometimes I just wish you had a Persona too, so that we could be taking this stuff on together. Just like old times, where we'd always do everything with each other. And I don't wanna leave you in the dust just because we're on different levels." 

She felt a little weird letting all of this out... a feeling she wasn't really used to. Ever since she had gotten her Persona, it was a thrilling ride the whole way through. Every time she beat the crap out of Shadows, she felt alive; the thrill running through her veins was something she didn't think anything could match. Everything just felt so... boring in comparison now. But for the first time, she actually felt like... maybe being normal wasn't so bad.

She hesitated, noticing Kanako's silence. "Is that dumb? Maybe I'm just overreacting, or - "

A hand on her shoulder made her flinch. She turned to see Kanako looking at her with... well, just the most sincere goddamn look she had ever seen. "Yuina, you don't have to worry about all that, okay?"

"I know, but..." Yuina coughed. Why did she have to say things so...  _ simply? _ It made her feel like a dumbass. "I don't know what the hell I'd do without you."

Kanako giggled softly, shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Yuina. I know you probably feel like we're distant now cause things are different, but... you're still my friend, and nothing's going to change that. You even brought me on the team to try to help you with information and stuff! I've barely done anything, and you still want me here... I don't think you  _ get _ how much that means to me."

Yuina hesitated, bringing one hand to her eye.  _ Okay, no. No crying. Especially not in public. _ She managed to stop herself, blinking a few times before putting on her cocky grin. "Well, maybe I wish I could provide more. And don't you dare say that about yourself. You're the best damn teammate we could ever ask for, and I'm stickin' by that. In a group like ours, we need someone who can keep our spirits up."

Kanako beamed in a manner that made Yuina chuckle. How did that face  _ not _ brighten anyone's day? "Well, I am pretty good at putting on a smile."

"... Fuck it. C'mere." Overwhelmed with relief, Yuina spread her arms, and without even hesitating, Kanako stepped forwards and embraced her friend tightly. The two shared their hug right in the middle of the street, earning a few weird looks - but Yuina couldn't be assed to care.

If anyone commented, she'd punch them.

**~~ RANK UP! - HANGED MAN ARCANA: KANAKO INOUE ~~**

Their hug wasn't very long, but it was enough that Yuina felt satisfied. She let go of Kanako, spinning around to face the way home. "Enough of the sappy stuff. How 'bout we actually get home? We could study together or something, I dunno."

"I'd love that." Kanako nodded in agreement as the two started walking again. "We're going to make sure you get a full score on your first test!" She pumped one fist with a grin. "I bet your parents will be super proud!"

"That's a little generous. You'll see a 90 from me at most." Yuina crossed her arms.

"Not with that attitude!" Kanako elbowed her playfully, and the two laughed as they made their way back home.


End file.
